;r/ 


N 


LIFE 

OF 

ROBERT  R.  McBURNEY 


t&r&t 


LIFE 


OF 


ROBERT  R.  McBURNEY 


BY 

L.  L.  DOGGETT,  Ph.  D. 

PRESIDENT    INTERNATIONAL   YOUNG    MEN'S   CHRISTIAN 

ASSOCIATION    TRAINING    SCHOOL 

SPRINGFIELD,   MASS. 


I 


PUBLISHED   BY 

F.  M.  BARTON,  CLEVELAND,  O. 


Copyrighted,  1902 
By  F.  M.  BARTON 


TO 

MY  HONORED  FATHER  AND  MOTHER 

SIMEON    LOCKE    DOGGETT    AND 
MARY   WHITE   DOGGETT 


CONTENTS 
PART  I 

PAGE 

I.    Introduction  —  The  Aim  of  the  Work — Per- 
sonal Sketch,  by  Geo.  A.  Warburton  -  i 

II.  McBurney's  Early  Years — The  McBurney  Fam- 
ily—Castle-Blayney —  Early  Religious  Influ- 
ences and  Education— Arrival  in  America  io 

III.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  New 
York  City  from  1852  to  1862 — The  City  Move- 
ment— New  York  City   in   1850 — The  Founding 

of  the  New  York  Association  -  -  23 

IV.  McBurney's  First  Years  as  Secretary,  1862  to 
1865 — Revival  of  the  New  York  Work  —  Mc- 
Burney's Appointment  as  Secretary — The  One 
Hundred  Seventy-sixth  Volunteers — Return 

of  Old  Members— Resignation  and  Return  -        52 

V.  McBurney  as  Secretary  During  the  Building 
Period,  from  1865  to  1870         ...  71 

VI.  McBurney  as  Secretary  of  the  Twenty-third 
Street  Building,  1870  to  1887 — The  Develop- 
ment of  the  Fourfold  Work — The  Campaign 
Against  Vice — The  Moody  Meetings— The  Or- 
ganization of  Branches     -  -  -  -       90 

VII.    McBurney  as  Metropolitan  Secretary  of  New 
York,  1887  to  1898— The  Metropolitan  Organ- 
ization—Work  for  Students — Some    Internal  ■ 
Developments — The  West  Side  Building— The 
New  York  Work  In  1898  -  -  -  124 

VIII.    McBurney's  Views  on  Association  Work       -      139 


Contents 
PART  II 

PAGE 

I.  The  Location  of  the  International  Commit- 
tee in  New  York  City,  from  1865  to  1867  -  157 

II.  The  Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Contro- 
versies—The Securing  of  Robert  Weidensall 
and  Richard  C.  Morse       -  -  -  -      174 

III.  McBurney's  Relation  to  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  in  Other  Lands— In  Eu- 
rope— In  Foreign  Mission  Lands       -  -  211 

IV.  The  Secretaryship — McBurney's  Contribution 
— The  Secretaries'  Conference— The  Training 
School  at  Springfield  -  -  -  236 

V.    McBurney's  Last  Days  -  -  -  -  249 


Appendix  ------      272 

Index  ,     -  275 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

i.  Robert  Ross  McBurney   -  -  {Frontispiece) 

2.  McBurney  at  Eighteen     -  8 

3.  William  E.  Dodge        -           -           -           -  -  68 

4.  Twenty-third  Street  Building  -           -           -  82 

5.  Diagram  of  Reception-Room            -           -  -  86 

6.  Reception-Room  During  a  Social         -          -  88 

7.  McBurney  in  1870  92 

8.  Building  for  Railroad  Branch            -          -  116 

9.  West  Side  Branch        -           -           -           -  -  128 

10.  The  West  Side  Men's  Meeting  -           -  130 

11.  The  Library        -           -           -           -           -  132 

12.  Boys'  Department,  West  Side    -           -           -  134 

13.  West  Side  Gymnasium             -           -           -  136 

14.  New  York  Branches  (Map)          -           -           -  138 

15.  McBurney  at  His  Desk           -          -           -  -  142 

16.  Cephas  Brainerd      -  158 

17.  H.  Thane  Miller           .....  166 

18.  Richard  C.  Morse    -----  188 

19.  The  Tower  Room           -  260 


PREFACE 

The  American  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
has  completed  fifty  years  of  history.  The  Jubilee 
Convention  at  Boston,  and  the  widespread  accounts  of 
the  association  in  the  public  press  have  given  greater 
prominence  than  ever  to  this  phase  of  Christian  work." 
This  year  celebrates  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the 
founding  of  the  association  in  New  York  City.  It 
seems  opportune,  therefore,  to  present  a  biography  of 
one  who  is  looked  upon  by  many  as  the  leading  factor 
in  developing  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
of  America. 

It  is  my  hope  that  this  volume  will  give  to  be- 
lievers at  large  a  clearer  idea  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 
and  the  great  work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  I  believe  it  will  also  be  of  much  value 
to  the  employed  officers  of  the  association  in  setting 
forth  the  possibilities  of  the  secretaryship. 

I  have  also  had  in  mind  young  men  who  are  fitting 
themselves  for  this  office,  and  it  is  my  earnest  hope 
that  many  will  be  inspired  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of 
one  who  has  done  so  much  for  his  feliowmen. 

It  has  been  very  difficult  in  giving  an  account  of 
the  work  of  one  man  who  has  been  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  others,  not  to  seem  to  overstate  his  share 
in  the  work  of  which  he  was  only  a  part.  I  have 
not  attempted  to  give  a  history  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  but  a  biography  of  one  of  its 


Preface 

characters.  Mr.  George  A.  Warburton,  who  was  for 
fifteen  years  associated  with  McBurney,  has  kindly 
contributed  a  personal  sketch  for  this  volume. 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  obligations  to  Hon.  Cephas 
Brainerd,  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Manierre,  Richard  C. 
Morse,  Henry  M.  Orne,  and  Dr.  M.  W.  Stryker,  for 
the  many  courtesies  extended  to  me  in  the  preparation 
of  this  volume. 

The  sources  consulted  have  been  the  Bowne  His- 
torical Library,  which  contains  all  the  published  reports 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  ;  "  Robert 
R.  McBurney — A  Memorial,"  prepared  by  Richard  C. 
Morse  ;  McBurney's  private  letters  and  papers  ;  and 
his  reminiscences  of  the  early  international  conven- 
tions, written  about  1885.  Mr.  Russell  Thompson 
rendered  assistance  in  gathering  material. 

It  is  my  hope  that  the  biography  of  this  noble  life 
may  prove  an  inspiration  to  others  to  associate  their 
lives  in  the  extension  of  Christ's  Kingdom  among 
young  men. 

L.  L.   Doggett, 
International  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Training  School, 

Springfield,  Mass.,  February  15,  1902. 


12 


CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTION 

Love  as  an  organizing  force  seems  to  be  the 
great  truth  which  the  life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 
presents.  He  was  the  leading  general  secretary 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  His 
personality  expressed  itself  through  the  associa- 
tion, and  through  it  he  has  left  his  most  precious 
legacy  to  men.  To  him  more  than  to  any  other 
the  association  owes  its  present  development 
and  individuality.  He  dominated.  His  influence 
displayed  itself  not  only  in  his  own  field  of  New 
York  City,  but  in  the  American  and  European 
associations,  and  even  reached  young  men  in 
unevangelized  lands.  But  pre-eminence  in  his 
case  was  something  greater  than  an  insistent 
will:  by  loving  men  he  made  them  love  him  and 
serve  with  energy  the  cause  to  which  he  had 
given  his  life.  He  loved  men  because  he  loved 
his  Leader. 

Another  thing  as  pre-eminent  in  this  man's 
life  as  his  dominating  love  was  the  ever-present, 
ever-ready,  concern  he  had  for  men's  salvation. 
It  was  hardly  possible  to  come  into  personal  con- 
tact with  McBurney  without  feeling  his  interest 
in  one's  eternal  welfare.  On  every  hand  he 
made  it  his  business  in  an  engaging  and  tactful 
way  to  establish  such  relationships  as  would  im- 
press men  with  this  interest.  He  took  advantage 
of  every  slight  occasion  to  this  end,  and  in  a  di- 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

rect  and  really  loving  way  he  made  a  personal 
impress  upon  thousands  of  young  men.  His 
cordial,  earnest  greeting,  his  hand,  his  look,  the 
few  words  he  spoke,  however  brief  or  inconse- 
quential otherwise  the  interview,  lifted  the  life 
he  touched.  Multitudes  of  young  men  owe  to 
his  efforts  their  personal  salvation,  and  hundreds 
of  others  have  been  led  by  him  to  devote  them- 
selves to  the  ministry  or  the  secretaryship  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  His  chief 
failing,  an  occasional  brusque,  overdominant 
way,  native  to  his  Scotch-Irish  character,  was 
often  turned  to  account  for  the  deepening  of  at- 
tachments between  himself  and  his  friends,  for 
even  out  of  brief  misunderstandings  grew  recon- 
ciliations which  more  clearly  showed  the  fervor 
of  his  love,  and  which  more  strongly  welded 
others  to  himself. 

He  was  a  strong,  vigorous,  creative  figure. 
He  found  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion plastic  and  unformed.  He  gave  to  it  direc- 
tion and  virility.  For  thirty-six  years  he  lived 
into  it  his  own  rugged  and  masterful  personality, 
and  made  it  a  dominant  social  and  religious  force 
among  young  men.  Without  wife  or  child,  the 
association  became  love  and  family  to  him,  and 
there  is  nothing  distinctive  to  his  life  which  is 
not  association  history.  He  created  the  general 
secretaryship,  and  thus  constituted  a  new  office 
in  the  modern  church.  He  discovered  the  power 
of  Christian  young  manhood,  and  trained  and 
organized  it  for  service.  He  wrought  out  a 
fourfold  ministration  to  young  men  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  physical,  intellectual,  social, 
and  religious  life,  and  so  became  one  of  the  pio- 


Introduction 

neers  of  modern  applied  Christianity.  He  was 
one  of  a  group  of  association  leaders  who  inau- 
gurated the  building  movement  among  the  Amer- 
ican associations.  He  was  influential  in  placing 
the  American  movement  upon  an  evangelical 
basis,  thus  identifying  it  with  the  evangelical 
church.  He  had  a  prominent  part  in  shaping 
the  history  of  the  American  International  Com- 
mittee, and  was  a  leader  in  the  world's  conven- 
tions of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 
At  a  time  when  industrial  changes  were  making 
the  city  the  controlling  factor  in  modern  life, 
and  when  young  men  were  becoming  the  chief 
element  in  the  city's  population,  McBurney  was 
placed  in  the  strategic  position  of  leadership. 
He  became  secretary  of  the  chief  religious 
agency  among  young  men  in  the  largest  city  of 
the  New  World. 

Of  a  retiring  but  positive  disposition,  he 
brought  to  the  task  before  him  the  qualities  of 
a  great  executive.  Other  departments  of  Chris- 
tian effort  have  produced  great  orators  or  great 
writers:  the  qualities  of  the  leading  figure  in 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  are  those 
of  a  great  executive  and  administrator. 

The  ambition  of  this  volume  is  to  make 
McBurney  a  living  man,  a  familiar  friend,  and 
an  inspiration  to  nobler  service,  even  to  those 
who  otherwise  have  not  known  of  him. 

He  will  be  presented,  first,  in  his  relation  to 
the  New  York  City  Association  as  its  general 
secretary.  To  understand  his  life  and  its  con- 
tribution to  modern  social  and  religious  develop- 
ment, it  is  necessary  to  make  a  careful  study  of 
the  association  of  New  York  City,  both  in  the 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

ten  years  before  McBurney  took  charge  of  it 
and  in  its  later  development  when  it  became  the 
expression  of  his  ideals. 

He  will  next  be  presented  in  his  broader  ser- 
vice to  the  associations  at  large — in  relation  to 
the  state,  international,  and  world  work.  The 
ideals  which  he  wrought  into  a  working  force  in 
New  York  City,  McBurney  impressed  upon  the 
whole  association  movement.  His  statesmanlike 
qualities  of  comprehensiveness  and  practicality 
here  shine  unrivaled.  Even  his  close  friends 
are  hardly  aware  of  how  vitally  and  how  widely 
he  touched  the  association  at  large. 

Lastly,  McBurney  will  be  presented  in  his 
personal  relations  to  men. 

He  was  a  delightful  companion  and  friend, 
as  will  be  seen  from  the  testimonials  of  a  group 
of  his  friends  upon  the  secretarial  force,  who 
gathered,  after  everything  public  had  been  said, 
quietly  to  recount  his  influences  upon  their  own 
individual  lives.  The  following  personal  sketch, 
prepared  by  George  A.  Warburton,  presents  to 
us  McBurney  as  he  appeared  to  one  of  his 
friends. 

PEN-PICTURE  OF  ROBERT  R.  McBURNEY 

BY   GEORGE    A.    WARBURTON 

"The  world  will  be  beggared,  indeed,  when 
it  has  lost  all  sense  of  hero-worship.  The  poets 
will  sing  no  more,  and  art,  in  all  its  many  forms, 
wanting  ideals,  will  die,  killed  by  a  prosaic  age. 
For  one,  I  deem  not  the  ancient  dead  to  have 
been  more  truly  saintly  than  the  most  modern, 
over  whose  graves  the  grass  has  hardly   had 


Introduction 

time  to  root.  More  men  walk  with  Christ  now 
in  New  York  than  did  in  Jerusalem  in  the  days 
of  His  flesh.  Yet  it  is  easier  to  see  the  halo 
around  the  head  of  Peter,  through  the  shadows 
of  centuries  by  which  he  is  separated  from  us, 
than  to  recognize  the  right  of  any  man  to  wear 
it  whose  eye  looked  into  ours  but  a  day  or  two 
ago. 

"  McBurney  was  a  saint;  not  a  weak  and 
passive  one,  but  cast  in  a  big  mold,  and  of  the 
finest  and  best  metal;  he  won  his  eminence  by 
holy  deeds.  To  know  the  secrets  of  any  man's 
success  in  the  accomplishment  of  his  life  work, 
we  must  dig  down  beneath  the  surface.  The 
things  he  does,  the  work  he  performs,  the  words 
he  speaks,  the  sum  of  his  social,  religious,  physi- 
cal, and  intellectual  activities,  are  but  the 
outflow  of  the  man  himself.  We  may  see  and 
measure  all  these,  and  yet  we  may  not  know 
the  man. 

"  McBurney  was  a  man  of  distinguished 
appearance.  He  was  well  built — his  body  strong 
and  large  enough  to  give  good  support  to  his 
massive  head.  His  pictures  show  him  in  his 
youth  with  a  gentle  face  and  wavy  hair;  in 
his  manhood,  his  firm  jaw  was  prominent — not 
offensively  so,  but  enough  to  make  any  man 
cautious  in  opposing  his  will.  His  eyes  were 
keen,  his  glance  penetrating,  his  forehead  high 
and  intellectual,  his  features  as  a  whole  singu- 
larly refined,  indicating  the  sensitiveness  which 
belongs  to  the  poet,  and  at  the  same  time, 
showing  signs  of  that  virile  manliness  that 
constituted  one  leading  element  of  his  strength. 
Physiognomists  say  that  a  prominent  nose  in  a 

5 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

woman  indicates  masculinity,  and  that  one 
delicately  chiseled  in  a  man  shows  the  possession 
of  the  most  attractive  and  tender  qualities  of  the 
great  feminine  nature.  McBurney's  face  told 
the  story  of  his  large  sympathy — a  sympathy 
more  marked,  considering  the  character  of  the 
drains  made  upon  it,  and  its  long  continued 
exercise,  than  any  I  have  ever  known.  His 
voice,  too,  was  an  almost  perfect  instrument  for 
the  communication  of  his  affection.  There  was 
always  harmony  between  his  real  feelings  and 
the  media  of  their  expression.  From  a  great 
fountain  the  manly  tear  rose  spontaneously,  the 
voice  grew  soft,  persuasive,  affectionate.  The 
manner  and  pose  all  corresponded  to  the  thrill 
of  the  soul  which  had  been  awakened  by  the 
story  of  some  young  man's  sorrow,  temptation, 
or  pain.  I  remember  to  have  introduced  him  to 
a  young  man,  in  a  perfectly  casual  fashion. 
Instantly  his  gaze  was  intent,  a  glow  of  interest 
and  solicitude  came  into  his  face,  his  manner 
was  that  of  an  affectionate  father  towards  his 
son.  All  the  yearning  desire  of  his  life  for  the 
salvation  of  young  men  seemed  to  be  focused 
upon  that  young  stranger.  To  see  him  thus 
was  to  catch  new  meaning  from  the  text,  '  The 
love  of  Christ  constraineth  me.'  It  was  not 
merely  that  he  took  an  interest  in  the  young 
fellow,  but  that  his  body,  in  every  part,  told  the 
story  of  his  holy,  passionate  desire  for  his 
salvation. 

"  The  sensitiveness  of  his  spiritual  nature  was 
the  most  marked  of  all  of  his  many  character- 
istics. His  great  soul  was  an  instrument  answer- 
ing to  the  touch  of  every  influence  that  came 

6 


Introduction 

into  contact  with  it.  The  fire  of  his  anger  was 
quickly  set  in  a  blaze.  Wrong  roused  him  as  it 
did  few  men.  Meanness  was  so  foreign  to  him 
that  its  appearance  set  him  burning.  It  was  the 
penalty  which  he,  in  common  with  all  delicately 
constructed  spirits,  had  to  pay  for  the  fineness 
of  his  organism.  Passion  and  power  live  in  the 
same  house.  It  was  this  fineness  of  grain,  this 
quality  in  him,  that  made  him  such  a  lover  of 
the  Scriptures.  Others  may  have  excelled  him 
in  knowledge  of  the  words  of  the  Bible,  but  he 
felt  and  absorbed  its  vital  element.  While  he 
mused  the  fire  burned.  For  this  reason  his  Bible 
classes  were  inspirational,  and  not  merely  in- 
structive. '  I  do  not  believe  in  feeding  young 
converts  husks,'  he  cried  out  in  one  of  our  con- 
ferences. He  never  could  do  that,  for  the  liv- 
ing, germinating  truth  was  always  seized  by  his 
vital  and  growing  spiritual  nature,  and  what  was 
food  to  him  was  eagerly  shared  with  others. 

"  He  loved  those  hymns  best  that  kept  most 
closely  to  Scripture,  and  in  which  biblical  ideas 
were  the  most  clearly  expressed.  The  dignity 
of  Wesley  and  Watts  answered  to  his  sense  of 
fitness  in  the  poetic  treatment  of  religious  truth. 
He  was  passionately  fond  of  and  was  deeply 
moved  by  hymns.  Looking  over  the  manuscript 
of  a  hymn-book  in  which  many  of  the  old  stan- 
dard hymns  were  used,  he  was  constantly  fired  by 
them.  He  would  stand  up  and  read  all  of  the 
verses  of  one  that  particularly  struck  him.  '  Isn't 
that  fine!'  he  would  exclaim,  while  his  whole  be- 
ing seemed  under  the  spell  of  the  beautifully 
expressed  truth. 

"  His  artistic  sense  was  well  developed.     He 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

loved  good  pictures,  and  even  the  decorations  of 
his  room  bore  witness  to  the  possession  of  the 
artist  soul. 

"  While  his  reading  was  not  particularly 
broad,  and  he  made  no  attempt  to  keep  pace 
with  the  vast  output  of  the  modern  press,  he 
chose  with  discrimination  those  books  that  he 
did  read.  No  one  ever  saw  a  poor  book  on  his 
table  or  in  his  hand. 

"  His  most  constant  and  successful  study  was 
the  study  of  men.  %He  knew  men  as  few  men 
have  known  them,  and  it  was  because  of  this 
knowledge  that  his  judgment  was  so  sound  and 
infallible.  The  conclusions  that  he  reached  so 
quickly  as  to  lead  us  to  say  that  he  possessed 
intuition,  were  based  upon  his  knowledge  of  the 
motives,  moods,  and  habits  of  men.  His  whole 
life  was  devoted  to  the  study  of  human  conduct, 
and  he  knew  by  instinct  what  the  result  of  a 
certain  course  of  action  would  be,  whether  in  an 
individual  or  in  an  organization  composed  of 
individual  units.  No  man  can  properly  guide 
his  own  course  or  direct  the  affairs  of  others  who 
has  paid  attention  to  the  development  of  but  one 
side  of  his  nature.  He  must  have  had  a  certain 
temperamental  endowment  to  begin  with — ele- 
mental qualities  capable  of  culture  and  enlarge- 
ment. McBurney  was  rich  in  the  possession  of 
his  own  personality.  One  could  read  the  history 
of  a  good  ancestry  in  him.  His  features  bore 
witness  to  it,  and  all  the  little  spontaneous  ex- 
pressions of  language  and  demeanor  confirmed 
it.  Blood  and  breeding  always  hang  out  their 
signs.  Body,  mind,  and  soul  were  large  to  begin 
with.    He  was  not  emotional  enough  to  be  weak, 

8 


McBURNEY   AT  EIGHTEEN 


Introduction 

but  had  the  tenderness  of  a  woman  combined 
with  the  judgment  of  a  sage.  The  widest  en- 
trance to  human  hearts  is  through  the  gateway 
of  the  feelings.  He  was  his  own  mental  master. 
Years  of  study  and  mental  discipline  had  ripened 
his  judgment  and  made  it  very  discriminating. 
No  man  can  be  a  great  leader  who  does  not 
have  both  heart  and  head  developed.  Feeling 
and  judgment  must  be  kept  in  just  proportion 
and  balance.  The  same  qualities  that  McBurney 
had  would  have  made  him  conspicuous  anywhere. 
A  bank  president  once  said  to  me,  '  If  he  had 
entered  business  life  he  would  have  been  a  rich 
man.  In  my  business  he  would  have  risen  to 
the  top.  Such  men  as  he  are  presidents  of  rail- 
ways, or  at  the  head  of  their  professions.' 

"  He  was  a  great  man.  He  carved  his  own 
way  to  his  place  of  influence.  You  might  put 
such  a  man  anywhere,  and  his  natural  qualities 
would  assert  themselves.  Patiently,  indus- 
triously, lovingly,  he  toiled  for  others.  With 
splendid  self-forgetfulness,  and  with  passionate 
devotion  to  his  risen  Lord,  he  wrought  and  gave 
his  life.  His  place  in  our  affections  is  secure, 
and  men  will  continue  to  honor  his  memory. 
'  He  that  loseth  his  own  life  shall  find  it  unto 
life  eternal.'  " 


CHAPTER  II 

McBURNEY'S   EARLY  YEARS 

THE  MCBURNEY  FAMILY— CASTLE-BLAYNEY-EARLY  RE- 
LIGIOUS INFLUENCES  AND  EDUCATION— ARRIVAL  IN 
AMERICA 

Robert  Ross  McBurney  was  born  March 
thirty-first,  1837,  at  Castle-Blayney,  a  market- 
place in  County  Monaghan,  in  the  Protestant 
province  of  Ulster,  in  northern  Ireland.  He 
sprang  from  the  sturdy  Scotch-Irish  stock  which 
has  contributed  so  largely  to  the  commercial 
prosperity,  the  moral  fiber,  and  the  hardy  inde- 
pendence of  the  American  people.  He  had 
the  religious  depth  of  feeling  and  the  capacity 
for  loyal  devotion,  and  in  later  life  the  touch 
of  literary  refinement,  which  belongs  to  the 
Celtic  race.  He  had  an  Irish  warmth  of  heart 
combined  with  a  Scottish  reserve  of  manner. 
He  had  Irish  good  nature  and  Scotch  perti- 
nacity and  determination. 

McBurney's  father  was  a  prominent  physi- 
cian and  surgeon  with  a  large  practice  in  Cas- 
tle-Blayney and  the  surrounding  country,  and 
was  held  in  high  esteem  by  men  of  every  class. 
He  maintained  a  dispensary  to  which  the  peo- 
ple of  the  neighborhood  were  accustomed  to 
go  for  medicines.  Dr.  McBurney  was  an  ac- 
tive member  and  officer  in  the  larger  of  the 
two  Presbyterian  churches  of  the  locality,  and 
was  a    prominent    figure   in    the  open-air   reli- 


McBurney' s  Early  Tears 

gious  meetings  then  prevalent.  He  was  zealous 
in  the  distribution  of  religious  tracts,  was  well 
known  for  his  extreme  hostility  to  Romanism, 
and  was  active  in  the  dissemination  of  anti- 
papal  literature.  He  used  to  sit  on  the  porch 
in  front  of  his  house  as  the  Romanist  com- 
municants passed  on  their  way  to  Sunday  ser- 
vices and  call  out,  "No  popery!  No  popery!" 
and  from  this  received  the  by-name  of  "  No- 
Pope  McBurney"  from  some  of  his  fellow- 
townsmen.  It  is  related  that  his  son  Robert 
in  his  boyhood  shared  his  father's  spirit  in 
this  respect,  and  that  on  one  occasion  when 
a  young  Catholic  was  being  considered  for  ad- 
mission to  a  literary  society  with  which  Robert 
was  connected,  he  so  signified  his  hostility  to 
the  proceedings  by  keeping  up  the  cry  of  "No 
pope!  No  pope!"  that  he  was  successful  in  pre- 
venting his  admission.  But  however  partisan 
Robert  McBurney  may  have  been  in  his  early 
youth,  there  is  abundant  evidence  in  later  life 
to  show  that  in  the  maturity  of  his  view  he 
was  a  man  of  liberal  toleration,  and  was  par- 
ticularly sympathetic  toward  Catholic  young 
men. 

He  clearly  distinguished  between  the  views 
of  different  religious  bodies,  and  recognized 
the  difficulties  men  have  with  regard  to  mat- 
ters of  belief.  In  1895,  m  writing  to  a  friend 
who  had  asked  him  as  to  the  wisdom  of  invit- 
ing a  Catholic  bishop  to  address  a  men's  gos- 
pel meeting,  McBurney  said:  "  The  general 
belief  of  Protestants  is  that  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  is  in  very  grave  error,  and  that  the 
influence    exerted    by    that    church    upon    her 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

constituents  is  not  as  beneficial  as  the  influence 
exerted  by  the  Protestant  Church.  From  an 
association  standpoint,  I  doubt  the  wisdom  of 
inviting  the  bishop,  but  from  my  own  individual 
standpoint,  I  would  not  hesitate  an  instant  to 
invite  him,  because  I  believe  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Church  to  be  sound  on  the  deity  of  our  Lord 
and  His  atonement — two  of  the  most  important 
points  of  Christian  faith.  Personally,  I  welcome 
good  wherever  I  find  it,  and  give  thanks  to  God 
for  it." 

McBurney's  maternal  grandfather  was  Rob- 
ert Ross.  Mr.  Ross  was  a  man  highly  respected 
in  his  section  of  northern  Ireland.  Both  he 
and  Mrs.  Ross  were  converted  and  became 
Wesleyan  Methodists  at  the  great  religious 
meetings  conducted  by  John  Wesley  at  the  town 
of  Clones,  County  Monaghan,  in  the  year  1787. 
Their  daughter,  Miss  Ross,  was  the  first  of  Dr. 
McBurney's  three  wives.  She  died  when 
Robert,  the  eldest  of  her  children,  was  between 
six  and  seven  years  old.  She  was  a  friend  of 
Lady  Blayney,  and  a  woman  highly  respected 
in  the  community.  She  was  an  ardent  Metho- 
dist, and  a  member  of  the  little  Wesleyan 
Chapel  in  Castle-Blayney.  It  was  largely  from 
her  that  McBurney  received  the  impetus  for 
Bible  study  which  was  a  conspicuous  feature  of 
his  later  life.  His  mother,  although  a  loyal 
Methodist,  on  Sunday  morning  attended  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  with  her  husband, 
and  Robert  was  a  member  of  the  Bible  class  in 
the  Sunday  school  connected  with  that  church. 
Mrs.  McBurney  also  gave  a  portion  of  her  time 
to  her  own  church,  and  her  son  used  to  accom- 


McBurneys  Early  Tears 

pany  her  to  both  the  Wesleyan  Chapel  and 
Sunday  school. 

Two  years  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife, 
Dr.  McBurney  married  Miss  Greer.  She  was 
also  a  Methodist  and  the  daughter  of  a  class- 
leader  in  the  Wesleyan  Chapel.  She  died 
shortly  after  Robert  came  to  America.  "  He 
was  thus,"  comments  one  who  knew  the  family, 
"  under  the  pious  influence  of  a  second  Metho- 
dist mother,"  which,  no  doubt,  helped  to  mold 
his  character  and  to  develop  his  Methodist 
preferences.  The  same  friend  said,  on  another 
occasion,  of  Robert,  that  he  was  not  in  the  fullest 
sympathy  with  old-fashioned  Presbyterianism. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  religious  influ- 
ences which  molded  the  great  secretary's  early 
career  descended  from  the  two  movements 
which  have  dominated  American  Christianity — 
the  Puritan  and  Wesleyan  revivals.  Both  of 
these  were  represented  in  the  church  life  at 
Castle-Blayney,  in  the  Presbyterian  and  Metho- 
dist Chapels,  and  in  Robert  McBurney's  own 
home  in  the  persons  of  his  father  and  his 
mother.  This  early  training  laid  deep  founda- 
tions for  an  interdenominational  catholicity  of 
spirit  on  the  one  hand,  and  strong  religious 
convictions  on  the  other,  which  were  of  great 
import  for  the  work  in  which  his  life  was  to  be 
spent. 

One  characteristic  was  his  decided  fondness 
for  church  singing  and  for  good  hymns,  as 
marked  in  advanced  life  as  in  boyhood.  Of 
hymnody  he  was  always  an  interested  student 
and  an  enthusiastic  critic. 

In  an  interpretation  of  his  life,  it  is  important 

13 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

that  emphasis  be  put  upon  the  strength  of  his 
convictions,  the  determinative  influence  of  con- 
siderations of  duty,  and  the  dominating  power 
of  his  strong  religious  motives.  This  will 
explain  much  in  his  career  that  only  those  of 
like  nature  can  fully  understand.  From  his 
boyhood  he  was  ruled  by  a  sensitive  and  sensible 
conscience.  It  is  related  of  him  that  when  a 
mere  lad  his  only  sister  requested  his  escort  to 
a  ball  given  in  the  vicinity.  His  remonstrance 
against  what  he  regarded  as  the  inconsistency  of 
her  course  being  ineffectual,  he  accompanied 
her  to  the  door,  but  refused  himself  to  enter. 

In  this  connection  a  letter  written  in  1895  on 
the  subject  of  dancing  is  interesting.  McBurney 
said:  "I  do  not  think  I  would  want  to  pass 
judgment  upon  an  assistant  secretary  or  physical 
director  who  dances,  without  knowing  more  of 
the  particulars.  I  certainly  do  not  think  it  is  a 
sin  to  dance.  It  may  be  judicious  on  the  part 
of  the  assistant  secretary  or  physical  director,  in 
deference  to  the  opinions  of  others,  to  deny 
himself  that  pleasure,  and  indeed,  it  may  be  his 
imperative  duty  so  to  deny  himself."  Evidently 
McBurney's  views  in  later  life  had  changed  con- 
siderably. 

He  confessed  conversion  when  twelve  years 
of  age,  and  throughout  his  life  he  placed  primary 
importance  upon  the  doctrine  of  the  new  birth. 

Dr.  McBurney  desired  his  son  to  follow  him 
in  his  medical  practice,  and  the  boy,  even  in  his 
younger  years  at  home,  became  familiar  with 
the  various  drugs,  supplied  the  simple  medical 
wants  of  the  people  who  carne  to  the  house  in 
his  father's  absence,  and  was  trusted  by  them. 

14 


McBurnef  s  Early  Tears 

Other  than  this  he  engaged  in  no  employment 
outside  of  school  while  in  Ireland.  He  first 
attended  a  select  school  for  children  taught  by 
a  Miss  Lee.  While  a  boy  of  kindly  and  affec- 
tionate disposition,  and  of  behavior  quiet  and 
tractable  enough,  he  was  not  a  bright  student. 
He  did  not  possess  that  love  for  his  lessons 
which  might  have  led  him  to  shine  as  a  scholar. 
On  at  least  one  occasion  he  was  sent  home  from 
Miss  Lee's  school  after  wearing  the  dunce's  cap, 
a  special  mark  of  degradation,  exposing  him  to 
the  taunts  of  his  companions.  In  after  life  he 
was  always  sympathetic  with  boys,  and  especially 
with  those  who  were  inclined  to  mischief.  In 
writing  to  one  of  the  branch  secretaries  in  New 
York  in  1891,  concerning  a  case  of  discipline  in 
the  boys'  department,  he  said:  "I  do  not  know 
how  it  is,  but  I  have  always  had  a  peculiar 
affection  for  unruly  young  fellows,  and  have 
always  had  ten  times  more  sympathy  for  them 
than  I  have  for  fellows  who  are  very  correct  in 
their  deportment.  We  have  a  saying  that  a 
fellow-feeling  makes  the  world  akin;  I  expect, 
in  my  case,  it  should  be  said  that  a  fellow-fail- 
ing gives  me  a  kind  of  kinship  with  boisterous 
boys.  They  make  the  best  kind  of  men  in  the 
end."  When  older  he  attended  the  national 
school  of  Castle-Blayney,  and  subsequently  went 
to  a  classical  school  taught  by  Rev.  Dr.  Coulter, 
who  was  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  of  the  village.  Dr.  Coulter's  school 
prepared  for  college,  boys  of  fifteen  years  of  age 
and  upward.  McBurney's  father  gave  him  this 
preparation  for  a  university  course  which  he 
offered  to  his  son  in  pursuance  of  his  plan  to 

15 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBumey 

direct  him  toward  a  professional  life,  but  the 
young  man's  inclinations  led  him  in  other  direc- 
tions. It  was  not  till  later  years  that  his 
aspirations  for  general  culture  gave  him  habits 
of  reading,  and  awakened  him  to  acquire  a  val- 
uable library.  The  degree  of  Master  of  Arts, 
conferred  upon  him  by  Hamilton  College  in 
1869,  was  a  recognition  of  his  mental  merit  as 
well  as  of  his  influence  in  affairs. 

Monaghan  County,  in  which  Castle- Blayney 
lies,  was  one  of  the  densely  populated  agricul- 
tural districts  of  northern  Ireland.  The  town 
is  about  eighteen  miles  from  the  coast  line  of 
the  Irish  Sea,  and  midway  between  Belfast  and 
Dublin,  being  some  fifty  miles  from  each.  Like 
all  Ulster  towns,  Castle-Blayney  was  a  strong- 
hold of  Presbyterianism.  There  were  two  Pres- 
byterian churches,  one  in  the  village  and  one  a 
short  distance  away.  There  were  also  Episco- 
pal, Baptist,  Methodist,  and  Roman  Catholic 
churches.  A  brook  flowed  not  far  in  the  rear 
of  Dr.  McBurney's  house,  on  whose  banks  were 
spent  many  of  the  hours  of  Robert's  childhood. 
The  picturesque  always  appealed  strongly  to 
him. 

Thus,  in  the  quiet  and  wholesome  surround- 
ings of  a  country  village  the  early  life  of  the 
future  secretary  was  passed.  His  love  of  truth, 
his  self-reliance,  and  his  fondness  for  nature 
were  here  developed. 

During  McBurney's  youth,  Ireland  passed 
through  the  grievous  years  -  of  the  "potato 
famine,"  which  brought  such  desolation  and  pov- 
erty to  her  peasants.  This  inaugurated  the 
great  Irish  immigration  to  America,  which  by 

16 


McBurney' s  Early  Tears 

the  time  McBurney  was  seventeen  years  of  age, 
had  grown  to  several  hundred  thousand  persons 
annually.  America  was  held  before  the  young 
manhood  of  Ireland  as  the  promised  land  of 
opportunity,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  even 
the  attractions  of  the  comfortable  and  honorable 
career  of  a  village  physician  were  insufficient  to 
satisfy  the  eager  and  restless  spirit  of  a  young 
man  like  McBurney. 

In  leaving  Ireland,  Robert  did  not  have  the 
sympathy  or  approval  of  his  father  or  step- 
mother, although  they  put  no  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  his  departure.  He  always  retained  the 
deepest  respect  and  love  for  his  father  and  an 
affectionate  memory  of  his  mother.  One  of  the 
striking  features  of  his  bachelor  apartments  in 
later  life  was  a  large  portrait  of  his  father  which 
McBurney  had  had  painted.  It  showed  him  to 
be  a  dignified,  sturdy,  and  rather  severe  gentle- 
man of  the  old  school. 

Robert  left  the  home  of  his  childhood  in  his 
eighteenth  year,  and  found  himself  on  board  an 
ocean  packet  bound  for  the  New  World.  New 
to  him  it  was  in  more  than  one  way.  Instead  of 
the  quiet  village,  the  turmoil  of  the  great  me- 
tropolis ;  instead  of  the  sheltering  home,  the 
temptations  and  fascinations  of  a  great  city  ; 
instead  of  the  opportunities  of  taking  up  his 
father's  practice,  there  was  the  necessity  of  earn- 
ing a  livelihood  in  a  strange  land.  Landing  in 
New  York  in  the  summer  of  1854,  his  whole 
worldly  substance  was  a  few  personal  effects  and 
a  small  amount  of  money.  But  he  was  not  en- 
tirely without  friends.  He  was  met  by  a  former 
tutor,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  he  was 

17 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

taken  on  the  day  of  his  arrival  to  the  rooms  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  New 
York  City,  then  located  in  Stuyvesant  Institute, 
659  Broadway.  The  association  was  then  but 
two  years  old.  There  is  no  evidence  that  this 
first  introduction  to  the  association  led  to  any 
immediate  enlistment  in  its  activities,  but  it  must 
have  made  a  lasting  impression  upon  his  recep- 
tive mind. 

He  had  been  preceded  to  America  some 
years  earlier  by  Mr.  Henry  Harrison,  a  gentle- 
man who  knew  Dr.  McBurney,  and  who  came 
from  the  Church  Hill  district  in  the  vicinity  of 
Castle-Blayney.  He  owned  a  hat  establishment 
at  349  Eighth  Avenue,  and  it  was  here  that  Mc- 
Burney secured  a  position  as  clerk  at  a  small 
salary,  remaining  in  this  employ  a  number  of 
years. 

The  contrast  between  his  humble  clerical 
work  in  New  York  and  the  position  open  to  him 
at  home  was  not  looked  upon  favorably  by  an 
old  friend  of  the  McBurney  family,  Rev.  John 
Kirkpatrick  of  New  York  City,  who  comments 
thus  :  "  Many  young  men  and  young  women  of 
strict  respectability  are  filling  here  what  at  home 
would  be  considered  for  them  very  menial  and 
low  positions.  Nearly  all  the  servant  girls  in 
my  church  are  respectable  farmers'  daughters, 
some  of  them  with  good  education,  and  highly 
respectable  men's  sons  are  glad  to  be  car-con- 
ductors and  street-sweepers  in  New  York,  all  for 
a  decent  living.  McBurney,  I  suppose,  having 
but  a  sovereign  when  he  landed,  was  glad  to 
drop  into  anything  to  make  an  honest  penny." 

In  accordance    with    an   old-country  custom 


McBurney 's  Early  Tears 

Robert  lived  in  the  family  of  his  employer.  Mr. 
Harrison  was  the  wealthiest  member  of  the 
Seventh  Avenue  United  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  one  of  its  ruling  elders.  He  was  a  man  of 
pronounced  religious  ideas,  and  the  discussions 
between  him  and  the  young  Methodist  concern- 
ing "hymns,"  "open  communion,"  and  the  "use 
of  instrumental  music  in  the  worship  of  God," 
picture  McBurney,  in  his  young  manhood,  as  the 
more  liberal  of  the  two.  Harrison  had  no  tol- 
eration for  hymns,  organs,  and  "  like  trumpery." 
His  views  on  many  such  questions  were  quite 
repugnant  to  McBurney.  In  after  years  when 
Rev.  Mr.  Kirkpatrick,  who  was  acquainted  with 
Mr.  Harrison,  met  McBurney,  the  latter,  he  says, 
"  never  failed  to  ask  after  Mr.  Harrison.  He 
had  a  lively  remembrance  of  him,  but  no  sym- 
pathy with  his  notions." 

McBurney  remained  as  an  employee  in  this 
hat  store  until  failure  put  an  end  to  the  busi- 
ness at  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War.  The  im- 
press of  his  business  connection  remained  upon 
him  throughout  life.  In  purchasing  a  hat  he 
would  spend  a  long  time  in  its  selection,  visit- 
ing a  number  of  stores  to  find  what  suited 
his  taste.  Further,  he  was  noticeably  observant 
of  what  young  men  wore;  and  if  he  thought 
a  friend,  or  office  associate,  not  appropriately 
or  neatly  attired,  he  was  apt  to  make  known  with 
Scottish  frankness  his  own  impression,  coupled 
often  with  direct  suggestion  of  improvement. 

In  August,  after  his  arrival,  McBurney  con- 
nected himself  with  the  Mulberry  Street  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church.  He  remained  with  this 
church,  which  later  was  called  St.  Paul's,  until 

19 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

his  death.  It  was  in  the  membership  of  this 
church  that  he  became  acquainted  with  Hon. 
Benjamin  F.  Manierre,  through  whom  he  was 
later  introduced  into  his  life  work. 

During  the  years  following  his  arrival  in  New 
York,  McBurney,  while  not  given  much  to  speak- 
ing in  public,  was  very  zealous  in  Christian  work. 
He  said  later:  "As  a  young  man  I  was  very 
active,  often  on  Sunday  attending  a  class  meet- 
ing and  preaching  service  in  the  morning,  a  mis- 
sion Sunday  school  and  meeting  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  in  the  afternoon, 
and  then  after  a  hurried  tea  going  out  to  church 
service  or  some  missionary  meeting  in  the  even- 
ing." While  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church, 
at  times  he  attended  others,  one  of  his  favor- 
ites being  the  Market  Street  Reformed  Dutch 
Church,  of  which  Rev.  Theodore  L.  Cuyler,  D.D., 
was  the  pastor.  In  after  years,  he  told  Dr.  Cuyler 
that  his  preaching  had  strongly  influenced  him, 
quoted  some  of  his  texts,  and  called  himself 
"  one  of  his  boys." 

In  writing  to  McBurney  during  his  last  ill- 
ness, Mr.  Dickson,  secretary  of  the  Twenty-third 
Street  Branch,  said:  "  Dr.  Cuyler  came  in  this 
morning  to  inquire  about  you.  He  said  a  num- 
ber of  times  over,  '  Be  sure  to  give  my  love 
to  Robert.'  He  wanted  me  to  tell  you  that 
yesterday  he  went  down  to  '  Old  Market  Street,' 
and  that  everything  about  the  church  was  just 
as  it  was  '  when  Robert  and  McAlpin  used  to  sit 
in  the  gallery.' " 

St.  Paul's  Church  established  a  mission  school 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Elizabeth  Street,  and 
about    1856    McBurney  went    to    Mr.  Manierre 


McBurney' s  Early  Tears 

with  an  invitation  to  become  its  superintend- 
ent. This  Mr.  Manierre  consented  to  do,  and 
McBurney  worked  with  him  in  this  Sunday- 
school  as  a  teacher,  and  rendered  what  other 
service  he  could.  Mr.  Manierre  remembers 
him  in  this  connection  as  most  diligent,  as  one 
of  the  strongest  of  the  young  men  who  shared 
in  the  work,  and  as  displaying  a  matured  Chris- 
tian character.  Mr.  Manierre  continued  as  the 
superintendent,  and  McBurney  as  a  teacher  and 
general  assistant  of  this  Sunday  school  for  some 
years.  He  speaks  of  McBurney  as  his  right- 
hand  man,  and  remembers  that  he  led  in 
prayer  acceptably,  and  while  little  speaking 
was  done  from  the  platform  he  was  never  im- 
pressed with  anything  like  diffidence.  He  says: 
"  McBurney  never  failed  in  being  on  hand,  and 
his  chief  if  not  his  only  activity  outside  of  busi- 
ness was  religious  work." 

He  was  one  of  the  young  men  active  in 
carrying  on  the  association  noon  prayer-meet- 
ings in  the  North  Dutch  Church  on  Fulton 
Street,  in  1856,  the  year  before  the  general 
revival.  He  was  a  member  of  the  association 
committee  which  had  charge  of  these  meetings, 
and  aided  in  the  distribution  of  cards  among 
business  houses. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  McBurney 
was  a  capable  young  man,  active  in  Christian 
work,  but  with  no  other  thought  than  devoting 
himself  to  a  business  career. 

It  will  be  seen  that  he  had  gone  through  a 
similar  experience  to  that  of  thousands  of  young 
men  who  leave  the  village  or  the  farm  to  make 
their  home  and  career  in  the  modern  city.     He 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

was  fitted  by  experience,  by  religious  conviction, 
by  temperament,  and  by  personal  characteristics 
to  be  helpful  in  a  tender  and  sympathetic,  yet 
strong  and  manly,  way  to  young  men  who  were 
surrounded  by  the  conditions  of  modern  city 
life.  He  was  providentially  prepared  for  the 
work  he  was  about  to  be  called  to  undertake. 
He  knew  young  men — their  temptations,  their 
struggles,  their  needs,  their  possibilities,  their 
peril.  He  had  been  alone  in  a  great  city,  he 
had  been  without  money,  and  almost  without 
friends.  He  knew  what  it  was  to  need  work,  he 
knew  what  it  was  to  overcome  temptation,  and 
above  all  he  knew  what  it  was  to  lead  a  life  of 
trust  and  loving  devotion  to  Jesus  Christ. 


22 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIA- 
TION IN  NEW  YORK  CITY,  FROM  1852 
TO    1862 

THE  CITY  MOVEMENT  — NEW  YORK  CITY  IN  1850  — THE 
FOUNDING  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  CITY  ASSOCIATION 

We  turn  now  to  consider  the  field  of  work 
which  was  providentially  prepared  for  the  com- 
ing leader.  It  is  necessary,  in  order  to  under- 
stand the  life  of  McBurney,  to  study  the 
development  of  the  organization  of  which  he 
was  to  become  the  employed  officer.  During 
the  eight  years  that,  as  a  clerk  in  a  hat  store, 
and  as  a  teacher  in  a  mission  Sunday  school, 
McBurney  was  learning  the  needs  of  young 
men,  the  New  York  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  was  laying  the  foundations  upon 
which  a  great  work  for  young  men  was  to  be 
established. 

The  most  striking  sociological  development 
of  the  past  century  has  been  the  industrial 
revolution,  which  has  transferred  the  larger 
share  of  the  wealth  and  a  large  proportion  of 
the  population  from  the  country  to  the  town. 
In  England,  this  movement  began  with  the 
invention  of  the  steam  engine;  in  America, 
with  the  application  of  steam  to  transportation 
by  the  invention  of  the  locomotive.  Almost 
equally   important   was   the   discovery   of    the 

23 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

Bessemer  process  for  the  manufacture  of  steel. 
The  years  from  1830  to  1840  mark  the  begin- 
ning of  this  transition  in  America.  The  urban 
movement  has  in  England  already  housed  two- 
thirds  of  its  population  in  towns.  In  America, 
in  spite  of  its  enormous  agricultural  resources, 
the  city  has  already  become  dominant.  In 
1898,  the  exportation  of  manufactured  products 
exceeded  in  value  the  exportation  of  products 
from  the  farms.  Nearly  40  per  cent  of  Ameri- 
cans are  in  towns  of  8,000  population  and 
upwards.  It  is  significant  that  the  proportion 
of  young  men  tends  to  increase  with  the  size  of 
the  modern  city.  Not  only  are  large  numbers 
found  in  great  cities,  but  the  proportion  of  the 
population  which  is  young  men  is  invariably 
greater.  The  country  no  longer  needs  the 
labor  of  young  men  as  it  did  a  few  generations 
ago.  Through  the  invention  of  machinery 
and  other  causes,  a  constantly  decreasing  por- 
tion of  the  race  is  able  to  produce  the  world's 
food. 

The  city  holds  out  the  fascinations  of  a  career, 
and  is  the  goal  towards  which  young  men  move. 
While  the  city  is  the  center  of  wealth,  refine- 
ment, and  religious  power,  it  is  at  the  same  time 
the  headquarters  for  the  forces  of  evil.  The 
powers  of  evil  are  concentrated  in  the  city  as  in 
no  other  place.  Young  men  from  the  country, 
or  with  city  homes,  under  modern  urban  con- 
ditions are  exposed  to  the  most  seductive 
temptations.  Without  restraint,  surrounded  by 
the  fascinations  of  pleasure,  the  temptations  of 
vice,  filled  with  the  eager  desire  to  secure 
wealth,  often  separated  from  friends,  and  indif- 

24 


The  Young  Men  s  Christian  Association 

ferent  or  hostile  to  the  church,  many  of  them 
fall  into  lives  of  dissipation  and  ruin. 

It  was  under  these  conditions,  and  to  meet 
this  need,  that  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation was  founded  by  George  Williams,  in 
London,  in  June,  1844,  and  it  was  due  to  the 
rise  of  the  city  that  the  association  spread 
throughout  the  world. 

No  modern  metropolis  so  typefies  this  urban 
movement  as  the  financial  capital  of  the  New 
World.  Political  ideals,  government  necessity, 
or  other  causes,  created  the  cities  of  the  Old 
World.  New  York  rose  into  dominance  on  the 
crest  of  the  industrial  movement  which  produced 
the  modern  city.  It  is  pre-eminently  a  business 
men's  city.  Its  prosperity  dates  from  the  year 
1825,  when  the  opening  of  the  Erie  Canal  made 
New  York  the  emporium  for  the  commerce  of 
the  great  lakes  and  the  limitless  agricultural 
products  of  the  growing  West.  It  had  then  but 
160,000  inhabitants,  but  its  increase  from  that 
time  has  been  swift  and  constant.  Twenty- 
seven  years  later  (1852),  at  the  time  of  the 
founding  of  the  New  York  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association,  the  population  of  the  city  was 
600,000.  It  had  become  the  recognized  me- 
tropolis of  America,  its  financial  center,  and 
already  the  chief  terminus  of  its  railroad  sys- 
tems. Very  soon  half  the  foreign  commerce  of 
the  nation  passed  through  New  York  City,  and 
five-sevenths  of  the  immigrants  from  other 
shores  landed  at  Castle  Garden. 

Of.  the  religious  forces  contributing  to  the 
complex  life  of  the  developing  metropolis,  the 
Dutch,    the    Presbyterian,    and    the     Episcopal 

25 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

churches  were  particularly  strong.  These 
churches  gave  the  impress  to  the  early  religious 
life  of  the  city.  They  were  soon  joined  by  other 
Protestant  bodies,  and  immigration  brought  in 
a  large  Roman  Catholic  population.  During 
the  early  years,  religious  activity  in  the  city  was 
not  remarkable,  but  the  revivals  in  the  middle 
of  the  century,  and  the  problems  created  by  the 
influx  of  an  enormous  unevangelized  population, 
roused  the  church  to  strenuous  endeavor.  At 
the  close  of  the  century,  it  is  said  that  in  its 
Christian  activities,  its  city  missions,  and  its 
various  philanthropies,  the  churches  of  New 
York  City  were  expending  more  money  for  the 
evangelization  of  its  crowded  population  than 
all  American  Christians  were  contributing  for 
the  evangelization  of  the  heathen  world. 

But  New  York  City  was  also  filled  with  count- 
less agencies  for  the  wrecking  of  manhood.  No 
other  city  in  America  held  out  more  fascinations 
to  the  careless  and  self-centered.  Its  theaters, 
saloons,  and  vicious  resorts  allured  the  young 
men  from  the  cheerless  boarding-houses,  and 
multitudes  from  the  crowded  tenement  districts. 
The  gates  of  sin  stood  wide. 

To  meet  this  condition  was  plainly  the  mind 
of  those  who  founded  the  New  York  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association.  Dr.  Isaac  Ferris, 
at  the  first  public  meeting,  said  : 

"  Our  city  has  proved  a  moral  maelstrom  to 
many  a  noble  spirit  who  had  none  to  fulfill  the 
kindly  words  of  the  Saviour,  '  I  was  a  stranger 
and  ye  took  me  in.'  Time  was  when  a  lad 
who  came  to  the  city  to  be  an  apprentice, 
or  clerk,  or  student,  found  a  home  in  the  circle 

26 


The  Young  Metis  Christian  Association 

of  his  employer.  His  house  and  his  place  of  busi- 
ness were  the  same.  But  now  it  is  sadly  altered. 
The  lad  is  left  to  the  wide  world.  He  is  sur- 
rounded by  the  mercenary  and  callous,  and 
happy  is  he  if  he  escape  unhurt." 

At  the  opening  of  the  first  rooms  of  the  asso- 
ciation, Mr.  Daniel  Lord  said: 

"The  young  men  who  come  to  try  their  for- 
tunes in  the  great  cities  are  not  the  ordinary 
and  common  youth  of  the  land.  Such  remain 
at  home  contented  to  till  the  paternal  acres, 
to  pursue  the  modest  and  reputable  mechanical 
trade  of  their  native  village.  Happy  the  life 
of  such  to  those  who  will  satisfy  themselves  with 
it.  But  many  others  there  are  '  who  have  heard 
of  battles  and  long  to  follow  to  the  field  some 
warlike  lord.'  Such  are  they  who  have  left 
a  peaceful  village  with  little  experience  and 
no  knowledge  of  how  small  it  is,  and  who  find 
themselves  in  the  streets  of  a  great  city  seeking 
their  fortunes.  How  is  the  stranger  youth  armed 
to  meet  the  attack  of  worldly  excitement  and 
sensual  allurement?  No  one  now  observes  who 
knows  him.  If  he  finds  employment,  he  also 
soon  finds  that  the  business  of  his  employer 
is  too  weighty,  his  time  too  much  absorbed, 
for  him  to  bestow  care  or  sympathy  upon  his 
humble  assistant;  and  although  having  the  deep- 
est pecuniary  interests  in  his  principles  and  mode 
of  life,  the  employer  too  often  is  obliged  to  trust 
his  assistant's  mode  of  life  to  the  moderation 
of  his  wages,  and  for  his  principles  to  the  vigor 
of  the  police  and  the  fear  of  criminal  justice. 
The  young  stranger,  as  to  social  intercourse, 
is  no  less  dangerously  and  painfully  conditioned. 

27 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

No  solitude  is  so  great  nor  so  sickening  to  the 
heart  as  that  which  may  be  felt  amid  the  mul- 
titudes of  a  great  city.  Every  one  is  absorbed 
in  his  own  interests  and  cares  not  for  you." 

The  founder  of  the  New  York  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  was  Mr.  George  H.  Petrie. 
In  1 85 1  the  London  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation was  seven  years  old,  and  was  firmly  estab- 
lished with  comfortable  headquarters  at  Gresham 
Street.  There  were  already  seven  branches  in 
the  metropolis  beside  the  parent  association,  and 
sixteen  provincial  branches  in  different  parts 
of  England,  with  a  total  enrollment  of  two 
thousand  seven  hundred  young  men.  These 
twenty-three  branches  were  all  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  parent  association. 

The  aim  of  this  organization  was  to  win  young 
men  to  Jesus  Christ  by  any  means  in  accordance 
with  the  Scriptures.  The  parent  society  pos- 
sessed a  reading  -  room,  library,  lunch  -  room, 
social  parlors,  and  rooms  for  educational  and 
Bible  classes  and  prayer  meetings.  It  was  in 
charge  of  a  secretary  who  gave  his  whole  time 
to  its  interests.  It  was  during  a  visit  to  the 
Crystal  Palace  Exposition  that  Mr.  George  H. 
Petrie  of  New  York  became  acquainted  with 
the  London  Society  and  its  work.  He  says: 
"  During  a  residence  of  some  twelve  months 
in  London,  in  the  years  1850  and  1851,  I  was 
brought  into  contact  with  a  number  of  leading 
Christian  brethren  who  were  heartily  engaged 
in  the  work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation in  that  city,  and  through  the  secre- 
tary, Mr.  T.  H.  Tarleton,  I  was  afforded  the 
opportunity  of  learning  all   the   main    features 

28 


The  Toung  Mens  Christian  Association 

relating  to  the  aim  and  working  of  the  associa- 
tion." 

Quite  independent  of  Mr.  Petrie,  efforts  were 
already  under  way  to  establish  associations  on 
the  London  model  at  both  Montreal  and  Boston. 
These  attempts  were  successful,  and  in  Decem- 
ber, 1 85 1,  in  each  of  these  cities  an  association 
was  established. 

Among  Mr.  McBurney's  papers  is  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Petrie,  in  which  he  says  : 

"  Impressed  with  the  thought  that  New  York 
City  greatly  needed  such  an  organization,  on 
my  return  from  London  in  the  autumn  of  1851, 
I  at  once  deliberated  as  to  the  best  course  to 
pursue  in  order  to  attain  this  object,  and  to 
establish  an  association  on  a  solid  and  perma- 
nent basis.  I  well  remember  the  first  evening's 
consultation  with  Messrs.  H.  K.  Bull,  Milton  St. 
John,  and  Oliver  P.  Woodford,  before  whom  the 
whole  subject  was  plainly  stated.  [This  was  in 
November,  1851.]  Although  these  gentlemen's 
Christian  love  and  impulses  were  strongly  fa- 
vorable to  the  movement,  I  confess  a  feeling  of 
disappointment  came  over  me  that  they  did  not 
so  enthusiastically  enter  into  the  idea  of  our 
city's  need  for  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation. 

"This  feeling,  however,  soon  passed  away, 
as  the  subsequent  action  of  these  gentlemen 
proved  them  to  be  considerate  and  hearty 
espousers  of  the  object." 

Several  meetings  were  held  at  the  houses  of 
one  or  the  other,  each  time  a  larger  number 
coming  together.  It  was  now  decided  by  the 
young  men  to  visit  the  pastors  of  the  city  and 

29 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

learn  their  views.  As  the  project  was  new, 
there  was  hesitation  on  the  part  of  some  who 
feared  that  the  movement  was  not  suited  to  New 
York,  or  that  it  would  be  injurious  to  the 
churches  as  an  outside  attraction,  and  that  its 
meetings  might  draw  young  men  away  from 
church  gatherings  and  church  work.  But  Rev. 
Drs.  James  W.  Alexander  and  Isaac  Ferris  were 
strongly  impressed  with  the  new  project,  and  the 
need  of  some  such  ministry  to  the  young  men 
of  New  York  City. 

An  important  meeting  was  held  at  Mr. 
Petrie's  home  on  April  twenty-first,  1852,  at 
which  a  preliminary  organization  was  formed, 
of  which  he  was  made  secretary.  Minutes  have 
been  kept  of  this  and  subsequent  gatherings. 
At  this  meeting  the  following  resolution  was 
adopted : 

"  Resolved,  that  ....  the  young  men  now 
assembled  deem  it  desirable  that  an  association 
be  formed,  consisting  of  members  of  evangelical 
churches  in  this  city,  to  be  called  the  New  York 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  which  shall 
be  conducted  on  a  plan  resembling  that  of  simi- 
lar societies  in  London  and  other  large  cities, 
and  that  we  invite  the  co-operation  of  the 
Christian  young  men  of  this  city  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  purpose." 

A  number  of  meetings  of  this  preliminary 
organization  took  place,  at  which  a  spirit  of 
enthusiasm  for  the  new  movement  developed. 
A  committee  was  appointed,  of  which  Mr. 
Petrie  was  one,  to  send  out  a  circular  to  the 
young  men  of  New  York  City.  At  one  of  the 
meetings,  Mr.  Woodford  spoke  "of  the  necessity 

30 


The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 

of  more  intimacy  among  the  members  of  the 
church  of  Christ,  in  order  that  Christian  influ- 
ences might  be  felt,  not  only  in  this  city,  but 
throughout  the  Union."  Copies  of  the  con- 
stitutions of  both  the  London  and  Boston  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  were  in  the  hands 
of  these  young  men,  and  letters  were  inter- 
changed with  the  secretary  of  the  Boston 
society.  At  one  meeting  it  was  voted  to  secure 
sufficient  copies  of  the  Boston  constitution  to 
place  one  in  the  hands  of  each  clergyman  in 
the  city,  and  if  this  could  not  be  done,  to  reprint 
the  last  report  of  the  London  Association.  A 
considerable  number  of  the  Boston  constitutions 
were  procured. 

Finally,  it  was  arranged  to  call  a  general  pub- 
lic meeting,  to  be  held  at  the  Mercer  Street  Pres- 
byterian Church,  on  May  twenty-eighth,  1852. 

During  the  months  from  January  to  May, 
1852,  the  Boston  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation had  grown  rapidly.  It  had  opened  rooms 
on  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Summer 
Streets.  The  opening  address  had  been  given 
by  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher,  before  600  young  men, 
who  said:  "  I  always  felt  sure  the  millenium 
would  come,  but  never  so  sure  of  it  before  as 
now.  I  breathe  a  longer,  deeper  breath  than  I 
ever  breathed  before."  The  Boston  member- 
ship had  already  reached  1,200,  and  10,000 
copies  of  their  constitution  had  been  printed  and 
distributed  widely  over  the  country.  Associa- 
tions had  been  formed  at  Worcester,  Springfield, 
and  Buffalo. 

The  meeting  at  the  Mercer  Street  Presby- 
terian Church  was  attended  by  300  young  men. 

31 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

Rev.  George  T.  Bedell,  rector  of  the  Ascension 
Church,  presided,  and  a  stirring  address  was 
delivered  by  Chancellor  Isaac  Ferris.  At  this 
meeting  173  young  men  signified  their  desire  to 
become  members,  and  a  temporary  organization 
was  effected,  of  which  Mr.  J.  W.  Benedict  was 
made  chairman. 

Finally,  a  meeting  for  permanent  organiza- 
tion, at  which  a  constitution  was  adopted  and 
officers  elected,  was  held  at  the  Mercer  Street 
Presbyterian  Church  on  June  thirtieth,  1852, 
and  the  New  York  City  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  was  definitely  started  upon  its  career 
of  usefulness. 

Note. — The  first  list  of  officers  contained  a  number  of 
men  who  became  prominent  in  the  organization,  among 
them:  Oliver  P.  Woodford,  who  was  the  first  president; 
Rev.  Howard  Crosby,  who  was  its  second  president,  and 
who  largely  dominated  its  policy  during  its  early  years; 
Benjamin  F.  Manierre,  who  several  times  led  in  deliver- 
ing the  association  from  debt,  and  as  we  shall  learn, 
rendered  it  one  of  its  greatest  services ;  George  H.  Petrie, 
who  founded  the  association;  and  Mr.  Samuel  W.  Steb- 
bins,  who  served  as  president  a  number  of  times,  and 
helped  to  revive  the  association  during  the  war.  The 
constitution  was  as  follows: 

PREAMBLE 

We,  the  subscribers,  actuated  by  a  desire  to  promote 
evangelical  religion  among  the  young  men  of  this  city 
and  its  vicinity,  and  impressed  with  the  importance  of 
concentrated  effort  to  aid  in  accomplishing  that  object, 
and  desirous  of  forming  an  association  in  which  we  may 
together  labor  for  the  great  end  proposed,  hereby  agree 
to  adopt  for  our  united  government  the  following 


32 


The  Toung  Men  s  Christian  Association 


CONSTITUTION 

ARTICLE    I 

Sec.  i.  The  name  of  this  society  shall  be  "The  New 
York  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,"  and  it  shall 
be  located  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

Sec  2.  The  object  of  this  association  shall  be  the 
improvement  of  the  spiritual,  mental,  and  social  condi- 
tion of  young  men,  by  the  ways  and  means  to  be 
hereinafter  designated. 

ARTICLE    II 

Members 

Sec.  2.  Any  man  under  forty  years  of  age,  who  is  a 
member,  in  good  standing,  of  an  evangelical  church, 
may  become  an  active  member  by  payment  in  advance 
of  one  dollar  annually.  Active  members  only  shall  have 
the  right  to  vote,  and  be  eligible  to  office;  and  it  shall 
be  their  particular  duty  to  carry  out  the  objects  of  this 
association. 

Sec  3.  Any  man  of  good  moral  character  may  be- 
come an  associate  member,  by  the  payment  in  advance 
of  one  dollar  annually,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  all  the 
privileges  of  the  association,  except  that  of  voting  and 
being  eligible  to  office. 

ARTICLE    III 

Sec  1.  The  members  of  the  association  shall  seek 
out  young  men  taking  up  their  residence  in  New  York 
and  its  vicinity,  and  endeavor  to  bring  them  under  moral 
and  religious  influences,  by  aiding  them  in  the  selection 
of  suitable  boarding-places  and  employment,  by  intro- 
ducing them  to  the  members  and  privileges  of  this 
association,  securing  their  attendance  at  some  place  of 
worship  on  the  Sabbath,  and  by  every  means  in  their 
power  surrounding  them  with  Christian  associates. 

Sec  2.  The  members  of  the  association  shall  exert 
themselves  to  interest  the  churches  to  which  they  respec- 
tively belong  in  the  object  and  welfare  of   the   associa- 

33 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

tion.  They  shall  labor  to  induce  all  suitable  young  men 
of  their  acquaintance  to  connect  themselves  with  the 
association,  and  use  all  practical  means  for  increasing 
its  membership,  activity,  and  usefulness. 


ARTICLE    IV 

Sec.  i.  The  officers  of  this  association  shall  con- 
sist of  a  president,  one  vice-president  from  each  de- 
nomination represented  in  the  association,  selected 
severally  by  their  respective  denominations,  a  recording 
secretary,  a  corresponding  secretary,  a  treasurer,  and  a 
librarian;  also  a  board  of  managers  consisting  of  twenty 
members,  of  which  each  denomination  shall  be  entitled 
to  a  number  proportioned  to  its  representation  in 
the  association,  of  which  the  officers  elect  shall  be  ex- 
officio  members. 

Sec.  2.  All  of  the  above-named  officers  shall  be 
elected  by  ballot,  on  the  last  Monday  evening  in  May, 
and  shall  enter  upon  office,  and  hold  the  same  for  one 
year  from  the  first  day  of  June  following  said  election. 

Article  V  was  devoted  to  the  duties  of  officers. 
Section  5  is  interesting  as  showing  the  duty  of  the  only 
employed  officer  of  the  organization. 

Sec.  5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  librarian  to  take 
charge  and  keep  in  order  all  books,  documents,  and 
other  movable  property  of  the  association,  keep  a  correct 
catalogue  and  account  of  the  same,  and  also  a  record  of 
all  books  delivered  to  the  members  of  the  association. 

A  comparison  of  the  constitution  with  the 
Boston  and  London  documents  shows  that  it 
chiefly  followed  the  former.  The  most  striking 
feature  was  the  division  of  the  membership  into 
active  and  associate  members.  The  aim  of  this 
division  was  to  place  the  control  of  the  associa- 
tion completely  in  the  hands  of  evangelical 
Christians,  and  at  the  same  time  bring  under  its 
influence  young  men  who  were  not  professed 
Christians. 

34 


The  Toung  Men  s  Christian  Association 

The  object  of  the  society  was  the  same  as 
that  of  the  London  association — the  intellectual 
and  spiritual  welfare  of  young  men.  Rooms 
were  secured  in  Stuyvesant  Institute,  No.  659 
Broadway,  opposite  Bond  Street.  It  was  to 
these  rooms  two  years  later  that  Robert  Mc- 
Burney  came  on  his  arrival  in  America.  The 
rooms  were  formally  opened  on  September 
twentieth,  1852,  and  an  address  was  delivered  by 
Daniel  Lord.  In  the  course  of  this  address  Mr. 
Lord  outlined  the  conception  of  association  work 
of  that  day:  to  aid  the  stranger  in  finding  proper 
abode;  to  help  him  in  securing  employment; 
to  furnish  him  a  place  of  relaxation  under  good 
influences;  to  provide  a  well-equipped  reading- 
room;  to  supply  some  entertainment  in  the 
form  of  an  appropriate  lecture  course;  to  care 
for  him  in  sickness;  to  give  him  introduction 
into  city  homes;  and  to  lead  him  into  a  Chris- 
tian life. 

The  association  was  to  pass  through  the 
vicissitudes  of  ten  years  of  history  before  it  came 
under  the  leadership  of  McBurney.  These  were 
years  of  uncertainty  and  experiment.  The 
movement  was  without  resources,  without  expe- 
rience, and  without  trained  leaders,  and  yet  in 
at  least  two  respects  these  were  years  of  great- 
ness. During  this  period,  except  perhaps  at  the 
Troy  convention,  the  New  York  association  re- 
fused to  take  the  leadership  in  the  national 
movement,  which  it  afterwards  acquired;  it  was 
disturbed  by  discussions  over  slavery,  and  on 
two  occasions  was  burdened  with  debt.  But  it 
was  during  these  very  years  that  the  association 
promoted  the  great  revival  of  1857  and   1858, 

35 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

and  the  United  States  Christian  Commission 
which  preached  the  gospel  to  the  soldiers  during 
the  war. 

The  international  organization  of  the  associa- 
tion of  the  United  States  and  Canada  was  known 
during  the  first  few  years  under  the  name  of 
the  Confederation. 

This  was  established  chiefly  through  the 
efforts  of  Mr.  (afterward  Rev.  Dr.)  William 
Chauncy  Langdon  of  Washington,  who  suc- 
ceeded in  calling  the  first  international  conven- 
tion at  Buffalo  in  1854.  Mr.  Langdon  wished 
the  New  York  association  to  take  the  initiative 
in  calling  this  convention,  and  also  to  co-operate 
in  the  publication  of  a  national  journal. 

The  man  who  particularly  opposed  Mr. 
Langdon  was  Dr.  Howard  Crosby,  who  became 
the  second  president  of  the  New  York  associa- 
tion, and  continued  in  this  relation  for  three 
years.  He  was  a  scholarly  man,  of  mental  force 
and  strong  personality,  which  was  distinctly  im- 
pressed upon  the  New  York  association  in  its 
early  development.  He  was  its  dominating 
spirit.  Mr.  Langdon,  in  his  early  story  of  the 
Confederation,  says : 

"  In  fact,  without  being  as  yet  fully  conscious 
of  it,  perhaps  on  either  side,  the  associations  of 
Washington  and  New  York  were  representative 
types  of  two  distinct  principles.  In  the  New 
York  society,  its  work  and  purpose  were  all  at 
hand.  All  its  efforts,  attention,  and  interest 
were  concentrated  upon  the  home  work,  save 
only  as  occasion  might  from  time  to  time  involve 
correspondence  with  some  other  body.  The 
Washington  association,  on  the  contrary,  whose 

36 


The  Toung  Men  s  Christian  Association 

membership  was  gathered  from  every  portion  of 
the  Union,  with  thoughts  and  prayers  divided 
between  scenes  and  friends  at  home  and  those 
abroad,  became  even  more  naturally  the  expo- 
nent of  very  different  interests.  Professor 
Crosby  had  clearly  and  strongly  emphasized 
views  of  what  the  New  York  association  might 
and  should  be  to  the  young  men  of  that  city,  and 
standing  thus  for  intensive  duty,  he  wished  that 
body  to  turn  its  attention  from  that  work  neither 
to  the  right  nor  to  the  left.  Professor  Crosby 
and  I  regarded  our  aims  and  plans  for  the  asso- 
ciation as  practically  antagonistic." 

Two  conspicuous  considerations  influenced 
the  New  York  association  in  taking  an  adverse 
attitude  toward  a  general  organization.  One 
was  desire  for  an  avoidance  of  political  discus- 
sion, which  the  slavery  issue  in  those  days  made 
very  imminent;  and  the  other  was  fear  of  central 
control  over  local  organizations. 

The  New  York  association  studiously  sought 
to  keep  the  slavery  question  out  of  its  affairs, 
and  had  its  own  bitter  experience  in  regard 
to  this  matter.  In  1853  an  attempt  was  made 
to  exclude  from  the  library  the  great  anti-slavery 
novel,  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,  and  this  proposal 
aroused  a  warm  discussion  in  the  board  of  man- 
agement which  led  to  a  careful  definition  of  the 
powers  of  the  library  committee.  Professor 
Crosby  thoroughly  believed  that  should  asso- 
ciations of  all  parts  of  the  country  be  brought 
together  into  a  national  organization  a  rupture 
upon  this  question  would  ensue. 

The  large  associations  of  Boston,  New  York, 
Baltimore,   and   Philadelphia,  which   contained 

37 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

half  of  the  association  membership  in  the  coun- 
try, agreed  with  President  Crosby  in  declin- 
ing to  aid  the  establishment  of  any  national 
organization. 

In  spite  of  opposition,  however,  Mr.  Langdon 
persevered;  and  finally  a  convention  was  called 
at  Buffalo  in  June,  1854,  which  was  attended  by 
thirty-seven  delegates  from  nineteen  different 
societies.  The  New  York  association  was  not 
represented.  This  convention  voted  to  establish 
a  confederation  when  twenty-two  associations 
should  give  in  their  allegiance  to  the  move- 
ment. When  ten  had  been  secured,  it  was  evi- 
dent that  nothing  further  could  be  accomplished 
without  some  change  in  the  situation.  Toronto 
demanded  an  expression  on  the  slavery  question. 
This  brought  a  crisis.  To  decide  either  way 
would  shut  out  some  important  associations  on 
one  side  or  the  other. 

In  October,  1854,  Mr.  McCarty,  correspond- 
ing secretary  of  the  New  York  association,  wrote 
to  Mr.  Langdon  that  a  judicious,  friendly  course 
on  the  part  of  the  committee,  seconding  the 
efforts  of  those  in  New  York  who  favored  the  con- 
federation, "  might  disarm  those  who  seem  over- 
prudent  in  the  matter."  Mr.  McCarty  was  asked 
for  suggestions,  and  a  circular  was  drawn  up 
in  accordance  with  these,  pointing  out  that  the 
central  committee  of  the  confederation  "  was  not 
a  governing  function  authorized  to  assume  any 
control,  but  rather  a  creature  of  the  confederated 
associations  for  certain  definite  and  limited  pur- 
poses." It  assumed  that  the  committee  had  no 
right  to  make  any  expression  at  all  on  a  political 
question. 

38 


The  Young  Mens  Christian  Association 

Two  days  after  the  issuance  of  this  circular, 
November  twentieth,  1854,  the  New  York  asso- 
ciation held  a  meeting,  in  which  it  was  voted  to 
approve  the  proceedings  of  the  Buffalo  Conven- 
tion, and  to  give  in  a  limited  adhesion  to  the 
central  committee  as  a  committee  of  corre- 
spondence. "  This  circular  and  the  subsequent 
action  of  the  New  York  association  had  an  early 
and  farspreading  influence,"  said  Mr.  Langdon, 
and  by  January,  1855,  20  of  the  necessary  22 
ratifications  had  been  received. 

The  chief  friend  of  the  confederation  cause 
in  the  New  York  association  was  Mr.  Richard 
C.  McCormick,  who  contributed  greatly  to 
stimulating  an  interest  in  association  work  at 
large  by  making  a  tour  not  only  of  the  associa- 
tions in  America  but  in  England  and  on  the 
Continent  of  Europe. 

In  deference  to  the  New  York  association, 
it  was  proposed  that  the  second  convention 
should  be  held  there,  and  the  central  committee 
located  in  that  city.  But  Dr.  Crosby  replied  to 
a  letter  seeking  to  learn  if  such  a  step  would  be 
acceptable  in  New  York,  that  the  New  York 
association  had  "  unanimously  decided  in  full 
meeting  that  we  deem  any  convention  inex- 
pedient, and  decline  any  connection  with  such. 
We  gave  our  adhesion  to  the  central  committee 
merely  as  to  a  committee  of  correspondence  to 
cement  the  associations  by  that  proper  means." 
The  reasons  for  his  position  were  stated: 
"  1.  We  believe  conventions  draw  off  attention 
from  local  work,  and  our  institution  is  essentially 
local;  2.  We  believe  they  foster  a  centralizing 
spirit  at  war  with  independent  action;    3.  We 

39 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

believe  they  will  tend  to  produce  unpleasant 
scenes  and  ruptures  on  such  subjects  as  slavery; 
4.  We  believe  the  expense  unauthorized  by  our 
main  object;  5.  We  believe  fraternal  feelings 
between  the  associations  may  be  better  culti- 
vated by  correspondence  and  chance  visits." 

It  was  not  until  after  the  war  that  the  New 
York  association,  under  the  leadership  of  Cephas 
Brainerd,  McBurney,  and  others,  took  its  natural 
place  of  leadership  in  the  general  work. 

With  what  reason  the  New  York  association 
feared  the  disrupting  influence  of  the  slavery 
issue  may  be  judged  from  the  disturbance 
caused  by  that  issue  in  the  New  York  organiza- 
tion itself.  This  disturbance  was  sufficiently 
violent  to  cause  a  rent  in  the  membership,  and 
threatened  the  complete  downfall  of  the  society. 
A  number  of  the  association  members  were 
active  in  the  Fremont  campaign  of  1856,  and 
figured  in  a  procession  given  that  summer.  This 
procession  was  savagely  caricatured  by  the  New 
York  Express,  a  rather  violent  political  organ. 
The  chairman  of  the  library  committee  excluded 
the  Express  from  the  rooms  of  the  association 
in  August,  1856.  This  was  done  simply  by  stop- 
ping the  subscription  which  caused  no  trouble; 
but  the  ground  of  the  action  became  noised 
about,  and  the  Express  began  an  attack  on  the 
association  as  a  political  organization.  Some 
members  of  the  association  on  their  individual 
responsibility  unwisely  replied  to  the  Express 
through  the  columns  of  the  Post,  and  during 
December  and  January  of  1856  and  1857  a 
heated  newspaper  conflict  was  waged.  Unfor- 
tunately,  an    effort  was   made   to   expel   some 

40 


The  Young  Men 's  Christian  Association 

members  of  the  library  committee,  and  to  return 
the  Express  to  the  association  files.  The  papers 
of  New  York  took  up  the  issue  as  a  political 
fight,  and  the  association  suffered  in  the  estima- 
tion of  a  large  element  in  the  community. 

The  organization  drew  into  itself  a  consider- 
able anti-slavery  element,  which  undertook  to  pass 
a  set  of  resolutions  denouncing  slavery.  There 
were  some  warm  discussions,  but  a  majority  pre- 
vented the  adoption  of  any  expression  on  the 
issue  as  out  of  place  in  an  organization  of  the 
nature  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion. This  displeased  the  Abolitionist  element, 
who  succeeded  in  ordering  a  full  investigation 
of  the  Express  incident  and  the  action  of  the 
board.  This  investigation  caused  a  number  of 
heated  meetings. 

While  the  association  never  yielded  to  the 
attempts  on  the  part  of  some  over-zealous  mem- 
bers to  commit  it  to  an  expression  on  a  political 
issue,  nevertheless  these  agitations  lost  to  the 
association  the  sympathy  of  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  community.  The  conservative 
element,  which  was  made  up  of  many  of  the 
leading  young  men  in  business  circles  in  the  city 
to  the  number  of  150,  decided  to  withdraw  in  a 
body.  Their  resignations  were  all  signed  to  one 
paper.  But  the  other  party  succeeded  on  the 
night  when  the  resignations  were  offered  in 
presenting  the  names  of  a  larger  number  of  new 
members.  The  continued  dissatisfaction  of  such 
an  influential  body  of  men  in  its  effect  on  the 
community's  attitude  towards  the  association 
was  one  of  the  important  factors  which  led  to  its 
decline  in  the  succeeding  five  years.     In   fact, 

41 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

there  was  not  a  full  recovery  from  this  loss  until 
near  the  close  of  the  war,  when  a  large  number 
of  those  who  had  been  dissatisfied  returned 
unitedly  as  they  had  withdrawn. 

At  this  point  in  the  narrative,  interest  at- 
taches to  the  fact  that  eight  years  later  resolu- 
tions were  adopted,  April  seventeenth,  1865,  upon 
the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  :  "  Re- 
solved, that  we  humble  ourselves  in  contrition 
for  the  assent  by  us  given  in  times  past  to  this 
system  of  sin,  and  definitely  promise  for  the 
future  a  more  perfect  conformity  to  that  free- 
dom wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free."  The 
intensifying  influences  of  four  years  of  civil 
strife  altered  more  than  one  situation. 

Whatever  might  be  the  political  agitation  of 
the  times,  the  New  York  association  was  nev- 
ertheless devoting  itself  assiduously  to  working 
out  its  great  mission  among  the  young  men  of 
the  city.  Early  in  the  year  1856,  several  mem- 
bers, among  them  Mr.  L.  L.  Deane,  became 
convinced  that  "  some  means  should  be  adopted 
by  which  to  reach  the  150,000  young  men  resid- 
ing in  the  heart  of  the  metropolis.  This  con- 
viction was  strengthened  by  the  report  of  Mr. 
Richard  C.  McCormick  relating  to  the  opera- 
tion of  kindred  associations  in  Great  Britain 
and  other  parts  of  Europe. 

In  August,  after  a  vain  effort  to  secure  the 
John  Street  Methodist  Church,  application  was 
made  by  Mr.  Deane  for  the  use  of  the  consistory 
of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  on  Fulton 
Street,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  union 
prayer-meetings  chiefly  for  men.  The  use  of 
the  rooms  was  granted  on  any  evening  not  re- 

42 


The  Toung  Men's  Christian  Association 

quired  for  meetings  of  the  church,  and  a  weekly 
meeting  was  commenced.  The  first  noon  prayer- 
meeting  was  held  in  September,  1856.  The 
meeting  was  held  daily  for  a  time,  and  then  three 
times  a  week,  between  12  and  1  o'clock.  This 
continued  until  the  summer  of  1857,  when  it  was 
deemed  best,  owing  to  the  absence  of  many  from 
the  city,  to  suspend  it  for  a  time. 

These  meetings  were  upon  a  purely  union 
basis.  The  invitation  was,  "Come  and  go  as 
you  like,  and  stay  no  longer  than  suits  your 
convenience."  A  number  of  gentlemen  from 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  co- 
operated with  Mr.  Deane,  among  them  Robert 
R.  McBurney  and  Edward  Colgate.  This  is 
McBurney's  first  recorded  service  in  connection 
with  the  association. 

"  In  order  to  gather  young  men  to  these  meet- 
ings, printed  cards  of  invitation  were  distributed 
copiously  in  houses  of  business.  Late  in  the 
summer,  under  the  lead  of  Mr.  Colgate,  a  num- 
ber of  the  members  of  the  association  were 
making  arrangements  for  reopening  the  noon 
meeting."  While  the  committee  was  in  session 
in  a  store  in  the  neighborhood  of  Fulton  Street, 
Mr.  J.  C.  Lamphier,  who,  in  the  mean  time, 
on  July  first,  had  been  appointed  city  mission- 
ary by  the  consistory  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  called  and  said  he  had  already  taken 
some  steps  toward  reopening  the  meeting.  He 
urged  the  young  men  to  leave  it  in  his  care,  and 
asked  them  to  take  hold  with  him  and  help  sus- 
tain it  rather  than  have  two  meetings.  The 
young  men  approved  of  this  proposition,  pro- 
vided the  exercises  be  sustained  on  a  thoroughly 

43 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

union  basis.    They  went  to  work  with  Mr.  Lam- 
phier  and  co-operated  heartily. 

In  the  mean  time  the  financial  depression 
which  was  sweeping  over  the  whole  country 
was  approaching  a  crisis.  The  most  serious  finan- 
cial panic  which  New  York  or  the  country  at  large 
has  ever  experienced  came  in  October,  1857. 
It  was  so  overwhelming  that  it  prostrated  the 
monetary  system  of  the  country.  This  panic 
turned  the  attention  of  thousands  of  business 
men  to  the  consideration  of  other  than  worldly 
matters,  and  was  followed  by  a  marvellous  re- 
ligious awakening  which  stirred  the  entire  nation. 
Immediately  the  prayer-meeting  at  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church  became  crowded.  Soon  three 
meetings  were  being  held  simultaneously  in  dif- 
erent  parts  of  the  Consistory  building.  Members 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  were 
active  in  these  meetings.  The  crowds  became  so 
large  "  it  was  clearly  seen  that  the  association  had 
only  just  entered  upon  its  work;  and  in  Febru- 
ary a  committee  was  appointed  to  organize  and 
sustain  free  of  expense  to  the  association  union 
prayer- meetings  in  such  sections  of  the  city 
as  the  necessities  of  the  case  and  the  signs  of  the 
time  seemed  to  demand."  Meetings  were  started 
by  the  association  in  the  John  Street  Methodist 
Church,  in  the  Ninth  Street  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  in  the  Dutch  Church  at  Broome  and 
Green  streets,  in  Burton's  old  theater,  and  in 
the  Central  Presbyterian  Church.  "  A  circular 
letter  was  prepared  expressly  for  the  clergy, 
setting  forth  the  object  of  the  association,  and 
giving  an  account  of  the  union  prayer-meetings 
held  in  the  city."     Other  agencies  beside  the 

44 


The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association  rallied  to  this 
movement,  until  in  New  York  City  alone  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  noon  prayer-meetings  were  being 
carried  on  simultaneously.  The  report  sent  by 
the  American  International  Committee  to  the 
World's  Conference,  held  at  Geneva,  July,  1858, 
says: 

"Union  prayer-meetings  are  maintained  or 
have  been  in  all  our  large  places.  By  the 
union  meetings  large  churches,  or  even  deserted 
theaters  have  been  crowded.  In  them  sectarian- 
ism is  lost.  It  has  been  perceived  that  the 
principle  and  practice  of  cordial  union  among 
Christians  of  different  persuasions,  not  for 
ecclesiastical  purposes,  but  for  the  cultivation  of 
personal  holiness  and  the  conversion  of  men,  is 
the  primary  force  which  has  sustained  and 
advanced  this  awakening.  Where  did  the  prin- 
ciple and  practice  originate  and  find  embodi- 
ment? Was  it  not  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association?  These  associations  have  steadily 
advanced  and  increased  in  numbers.  All  this 
had  been  going  on  for  years,  and  the  great 
principle  of  religious  activity  upon  a  union  basis 
had  become  a  practical  fact.  Hence,  the  agency 
for  the  great  work  was  at  hand.  As  the  revi- 
val proceeded  upon  a  union  basis,  our  associa- 
tions were  ready  at  the  outset  without  any 
adjustment  of  machinery  for  the  work.  The 
union  field  was  emphatically  their  field.  In 
many  places,  as  in  New  York,  Baltimore,  and 
Louisville,  our  associations  were  the  first  to  hold 
union  meetings,  the  example  of  which  was  soon 
followed  by  the  churches." 

The  report  of  the  New  York   association  for 

45 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

1862  says:  "The  noon-day  union  prayer-meet- 
ing in  Fulton  Street,  now  in  successful  operation, 
will  so  long  as  it  continues,  or  the  memory  of 
it  remains,  be  a  monument  and  a  proof  of  the 
good  our  association  has  accomplished.  The 
young  men  composing  the  committee  which 
planted  the  seeds  and  watched  the  young  life 
of  that  now  renowned  and  blessed  meeting 
are  still  numbered  among  our  most  earnest 
members." 

The  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  revi- 
val was  prayer.  The  movement  was  begun 
with  prayer  and  carried  on  by  prayer. 

The  second  feature  was  the  place  given  to 
laymen.     It  was  distinctly  a  laymen's  revival. 

The  third  was  the  union  basis  already  re- 
ferred to. 

This  revival  is  recognized  as  having  had  a 
profound  and  permanent  effect  upon  the  general 
association  movement.  It  gave  an  evangelistic 
character  to  the  work,  but  at  the  same  time  led 
many  of  the  associations  away  from  their  proper 
field  of  specific  work  for  young  men  into  a  great 
variety  of  evangelistic  undertakings.  The  New 
York  association  never  swerved  from  its  original 
purpose,  and  it  was  later,  under  the  leadership  of 
McBurney  and  others,  that  the  association 
movement  was  brought  back  into  its  distinctive 
sphere. 

The  closing  contribution  of  the  New  York 
association  during  the  period  before  McBurney 
became  its  secretary  was  its  share  in  the  found- 
ing of  the  United  States  Christian  Commission 
for  ministering  to  the  spiritual  and  physical 
necessities  of  the  soldiers  and  seamen  during 

46 


The  Young  Mens  Christian  Association 

the  Civil  War.  The  far-reaching  revival  of 
1858  had  raised  the  spiritual  life  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  and  prepared  the  church  as  never 
before  for  a  missionary  endeavor.  The  United 
States  Christian  Commission  was  the  first 
organized  attempt  of  the  Protestant  Church  on 
a  large  scale  to  carry  the  gospel  to  men  under 
arms. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  April,  1861,  President  Lin- 
coln issued  his  first  call  for  volunteers.  On 
April  eighteenth,  Vincent  Colyer,  representing 
the  New  York  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, visited  the  Sixth  Massachusetts  Volunteers, 
then  on  their  way  to  Washington.  The  New 
York  association  appointed  an  army  committee 
on  May  twenty-seventh.  Immediately  following 
the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  on  Sunday,  July  twenty- 
first,  two  representatives  of  the  New  York  asso- 
ciation were  sent  to  Washington  with  supplies. 
During  the  summer,  "the  barracks  and  encamp- 
ments within  a  radius  of  thirty  miles  around 
New  York  City  were  visited,  and  services  held 
with  as  much  regularity  as  circumstances  would 
allow."  Mr.  Vincent  Colyer  was  appointed  field 
representative  of  the  New  York  army  commit- 
tee. The  Union  army  at  that  time  enrolled 
250,000  soldiers,  chiefly  young  men.  Mr.  Col- 
yer wrote,  "that  the  mission  which  had  been 
undertaken  in  Christian  sympathy  as  a  tempo- 
rary task  would  have  to  be  taken  up  and  ex- 
tended as  a  permanent  duty." 

On  August  twenty-second,  186 1,  he  sentaletter 
to  the  New  York  association,  suggesting  the  call- 
ing of  a  convention  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations  to   inaugurate   a  systematic  work 

47 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

for  the  entire  army.  Steps  were  taken  at  once. 
Correspondence  was  entered  into  with  various 
army  chaplains.  A  special  committee  of  the 
New  York  society,  with  Mr.  Colyer  as  chairman, 
was  instructed  to  push  the  plan.  The  inter- 
national committee,  of  which  Mr.  George 
Stuart  was  chairman,  was  at  this  time  located  in 
Philadelphia.  On  October  first,  Mr.  Colyer 
wrote  to  the  secretary  of  this  committee  the 
letter  which  led  directly  to  the  founding  of  the 
commission.     He  said: 

"  Having  been  occupied  for  these  last  ten 
weeks  in  the  army  at  Washington  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  New  York  association,  the  ne- 
cessity for  a  more  extended  organization  has  so 
impressed  itself  upon  me  that  I  cannot  avoid 
writing  you  for  aid.  I  wish  to  ask  the  committee, 
of  which  you  are  the  honored  secretary,  to 
earnestly  consider  the  propriety  of  calling  a  gen- 
eral convention  at  some  central  place  at  the 
earliest  practicable  day,  to  consider  the  spiritual 
wants  of  the  young  men  of  our  army,  in  order 
that  the  same  may  be  provided  for  by  the  ap- 
pointing of  a  Christian  Commission,  whose  duty 
it  shall  be  to  take  charge  of  this  entire  work." 

This  convention  was  called  to  meet  at  the 
rooms  of  the  New  York  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  at  the  Bible  House,  on  November 
fourteenth.  At  this  convention  the  United  States 
Christian  Commission,  of  which  Mr.  George  H. 
Stuart  was  made  chairman,  was  created.  This 
commission  aimed  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
soldier  and  marine,  to  relieve  the  sick  and 
wounded,  and  to  bring  cheer  from  home  in  every 
way  possible  to  the  men  at  the  front.     In  carry- 

48 


The  Young  Men  s  Christian  Association 

ing  out  this  mission  the  commission  sent  out 
over  5,000  volunteer  delegates,  who  served  an 
average  of  twenty-eight  days  each.  The  com- 
mission raised  and  expended  $6,290,000  in  cash 
and  supplies.  The  army  committee  of  the  New 
York  association  was  continued,  and  for  most 
of  the  time  during  the  war  had  150,000  soldiers 
and  sailors  under  its  immediate  ministrations  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  metropolis. 

The  close  of  the  first  decade  of  the  history 
of  the  New  York  association  found  it  sadly  de- 
pleted. The  society  had  never  thoroughly  re- 
covered from  the  loss  of  such  a  large  number 
of  its  prominent  members  during  the  heated  po- 
litical discussions  of  1856.  The  financial  panic 
in  the  fall  of  1857  was  disastrous  to  the  associa- 
tion membership.  This  was  not  peculiar  to  New 
York,  but  was  seen  in  the  experience  of  associa- 
tions elsewhere  in  the  country.  The  condition 
was  also  felt  by  other  voluntary  organizations, 
many  library  associations  formally  considering 
the  expediency  of  disbanding.  The  association 
movement  experienced  a  similar  depression 
later,  following  the  financial  crises  of  1873  and 
1893. 

Through  several  years  the  finances  of  the 
New  York  association  were  in  a  wavering  state. 
Once  a  deficit  was  wiped  out  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Benjamin  F.  Manierre,  but  debt  soon 
again  gained  mastery,  and  in  i860  reached  the 
sum  of  $1,000.  The  report  for  that  year  dis- 
couragingly  says:  "The  association  is  still  alive. 
We  do  not  intend  to  rehearse  all  the  difficulties 
and  troubles  which  have  attended  its  life.     Like 

49 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

many  benevolent  associations  at  the  present 
time,  we  are  somewhat  in  debt,  our  expenses 
having  considerably  exceeded  our  receipts,  and 
owing  to  the  peculiar  state  of  the  times,  we 
have  not  been  able  to  carry  out  a  plan  which  we 
hoped  would  relieve  us  from  all  further  anxiety 
in  financial  matters." 

By  the  beginning  of  1862,  the  association 
was,  according  to  the  report,  burdened  "  with  a 
debt  of  nearly  $2,400,  which  had  been  incurred 
by  previous  boards  of  direction,  and  suffered  to 
accumulate  until  its  magnitude  had  become  ap- 
palling, and  had  seriously  paralyzed  not  only  all 
efforts  to  reduce  the  liability,  but  all  active  in- 
terest in  the  association  itself." 

As  a  final  stroke  of  adverse  circumstances, 
came  the  war.  This  resulted  in  the  abandon- 
ment of  nearly  all  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations  throughout  the  country.  There 
were  240  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  only 
sixty  at  its  close.  The  New  York  report  for 
1862  states  :  "Large  numbers  of  our  own  young 
men  have  left  with  the  fast  departing  regiments 
for  the  place  of  conflict,  and  for  this  as  one  rea- 
son we  have  not  been  able  to  perform  the  work 
more  immediately  contemplated  in  our  constitu- 
tion. The  active  men  on  our  committees  be- 
came the  active  men  in  the  camp  and  on  the 
field."  It  is  a  tribute  to  the  type  of  young  men 
who  formed  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation of  the  country  in  1861,  that  so  many  of 
them  from  patriotic  motives  left  their  homes 
and  occupations  at  their  country's  call.  The 
membership  had  been  gradually  dwindling.  In 
the  early  years  of  the  association  the  enrollment 

5° 


The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 

was  from  1,000  to  1,500  members;  by  the  be- 
ginning of  1862  only  151  young  men  remained. 
The  report  for  1862  said:  "To  many  there 
seemed  little  hope  of  relief;  indeed,  by  some  of 
its  old  friends  and  founders  the  question  had 
been  seriously  considered  of  liquidating  its  lia- 
bilities and  dissolving  the  organization."  Even 
the  clergymen  of  the  city,  to  a  large  extent, 
seemed  to  have  lost  active  interest  in  the  effort. 
The  association  of  New  York  City  had  ac- 
complished a  great  work,  but  it  was  in  need  of 
a  leader  with  genius  and  devotion,  with  an  in- 
extinguishable desire  of  winning  young  men  to 
Jesus  Christ,  who  could  place  the  organization 
in  a  position  of  power  and  usefulness.  That 
leader  was  to  be  found  in  Robert  R.  McBurney. 
He  was  about  to  enter  upon  a  period  of  direct 
training  for  his  life  of  usefulness  among  young 
men.  He  was  to  learn  from  the  older  men  with 
whom  he  came  to  associate  the  art  of  adminis- 
tration and  of  leadership. 


51 


CHAPTER   IV 

McBURNEY'S  FIRST  YEARS  AS  SECRETARY, 
i 862-1 865 

REVIVAL  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  WORK— MC  BURNEY  APPOINT- 
ED AS  SECRETARY— THE  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  SEVENTY- 
SIXTH  VOLUNTEERS  — RETURN  OF  OLD  MEMBERS  — 
OPENING  OF  NEW  ROOMS-RESIGNATION  AND  RETURN 

Events  in  the  New  York  association  were 
rapidly  approaching  their  worst  when  the  hat 
establishment  in  which  McBurney  was  employed 
failed  like  many  other  concerns  which  gave  way 
under  the  business  conditions  attending  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war.  This  left  McBurney  without 
employment.  After  a  period  jn  which  he  dropped 
out  of  the  observation  of  Mr.  Manierre,  he  ap- 
peared at  the  office  of  the  lawyer  and  told  him 
that  he  was  not  doing  well.  Mr.  Manierre's 
political  activity  had  sent  him  to  the  New  York 
senate,  and  he  set  about  to  use  his  influence  for 
the  young  man  in  his  time  of  need.  In  response 
to  his  efforts  he  received  some  assurances  that 
McBurney  would  be  appointed  to  a  position  in 
the  Custom  House. 

While  this  was  pending,  the  affairs  of  the 
association  reached  a  crisis.  A  clergyman  who 
was  one  of  the  organization's  most  earnest  sup- 
porters came  to  Mr.  Manierre  and  told  him  that 
the  "association  was  doing  nothing,  that  it  had 
run  down,  was  suffering  from  a  heavy  debt, 
that  there  was  no  apparent  way  out,  and  that 

52 


McBurney'  s  First  Tears  as  Secretary 

it  seemed  time  to  put  up  the  white  flag."  He 
declared,  however,  that  they  could  not  afford 
to  let  the  association  go  down.  The  two  together 
planned  a  meeting  of  some  of  the  leaders  to  see 
what  could  be  done.  This  was  early  in  the 
year  1862.  About  the  same  time,  Hon.  Cephas 
Brainerd,  active  in  the  association  through  al- 
most its  whole  history,  was  invited  by  one  of  its 
officers  to  take  luncheon  with  him.  Here  the 
plan  was  unfolded  to  close  the  association  by 
omitting  the  annual  election,  which  was  then 
approaching.  Mr.  Brainerd  did  not  commit  him- 
self, but  proceeded  at  once  to  the  rooms  of  the 
Importer's  and  Trader's  Insurance  Company, 
of  which  Mr.  Manierre  was  president  and  Mr. 
Frank  W.  Ballard  secretary.  After  a  conference, 
these  gentlemen  decided  to  put  up  a  ticket  at  the 
next  election.  Several  conferences  were  held 
at  which  it  was  agreed:  First,  that  Mr.  Manierre 
should  undertake  the  raising  of  the  debt;  second, 
that  a  reunion  should  be  called  of  the  members 
and  friends  of  the  association;  and  third,  that 
a  new  librarian  should  be  secured. 

An  attempt  was  made  at  a  members'  meeting 
to  carry  a  proposition  to  disband  the  association, 
which  was  vigorously  opposed  by  Cephas  Brain- 
erd and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gillet,  pastor  of  the  Calvary 
Baptist  Church,  then  located  in  Twenty-second 
Street.  It  is  probable  that  this  motion  would 
have  prevailed,  but  a  quorum  of  active  mem- 
bers was  not  present. 

Under  Mr.  Manierre's  leadership  the  $2,400 
needed  was  raised.  A  stirring  reunion  meeting 
was  held  on  April  twenty-eighth,  1862,  regarding 
which  an  historic  sketch  published  eight  years 

53 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

later,  says:  "  From  this  may  date  a  revival  of 
interest  in  the  work  of  the  Society." 

When  the  annual  meeting  occurred,  and  the 
force  led  by  Mr.  Brainerd  and  Mr.  Manierre 
placed  a  ticket  before  the  advocates  of  disso- 
lution, with  voting  strength  sufficient  to  carry 
their  appointment,  there  was  great  surprise,  and 
the  proceedings  took  on  something  of  an  ani- 
mated character.  The  excitement  probably  did 
more  good  than  harm  in  the  stimulus  it  gave 
to  those  who  had  set  about  rebuilding  the  or- 
ganization. The  report  for  the  year  1862  says: 
"The  proposal  to  disband  led  to  an  unwonted 
degree  of  activity  among  the  remaining  mem- 
bers. Our  deepest  consciousness  repelled  the 
thought,  and  the  purpose  filled  the  minds  of  a 
little  band,  who  had  ever  stood  by  the  associ- 
ation, to  seek  at  once  the  removal  of  embarrass- 
ments, to  plant  it  more  firmly  on  its  original 
basis,  and  to  send  it  forth  afresh  on  its  errand 
of  love." 

The  leaders  looked  to  the  churches  for  the 
broad  and  earnest  moral  support  in  the  com- 
munity which  was  deemed  necessary.  Refer- 
ence has  already  been  made  to  a  certain  degree 
of  apathy  which  existed  among  some  clergymen. 
"It  was  decided  to  be  indispensable  to  replace 
the  association  in  cordial  sympathy  and  co-oper- 
ation with  the  pastors  and  churches."  To  this 
end  all  the  pastors  of  the  New  York  evangelical 
churches  were  invited  to  an  eight  o'clock  tea  on 
June  thirtieth,  1862,  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel. 
Nearly  fifty  clergymen  and  others  were  present 
on  this  occasion,  and  in  more  than  twenty  ad- 
dresses new  interest  and  sympathy  were  pledged 

54 


McBurney 's  First  Tears  as  Secretary 

to  the  association.  The  pastors  offered  their 
services,  their  churches,  and  the  contributions  of 
their  people.  Following  this,  sermons  were 
preached  and  collections  taken  in  behalf  of 
the  association.  The  effect  was  immediate, 
and  a  "  new  spirit  once  more  vitalized  the 
society." 

The  little  group  of  men  who  were  interested 
in  the  association's  resuscitation  all  agreed  that 
a  young  man,  with  pluck  and  energy,  must 
be  secured  as  librarian  (the  term  then  used  for 
the  employed  officer  of  the  association).  Mr. 
Manierre  said  to  his  associates:  "We  must 
get  a  new  man  to  take  hold  in  the  rooms,  and  I 
have  just  the  man  for  you.  I  know  he  will  be 
successful."  He  relates  that  in  making  the 
change,  "  the  desire  was  to  get  a  man  who 
would  build  up  the  association.  We  wanted  to 
lay  everything  on  that  man." 

McBurney  was  then  twenty-six  years  of  age. 
He  was  personally  known  to  none  of  the  group 
but  Mr.  Manierre,  who  explained  that  his  knowl- 
edge^ of  McBurney's  fitness  was  gained  from 
observation  of  his  powers  in  Sunday-school 
work.  Mr.  Manierre's  suggestion  was  accepted, 
and  the  vote  for  McBurney's  appointment  was 
unanimous.  Mr.  Manierre  then  sent  for  Mc- 
Burney, told  him  of  the  situation,  the  needs  of 
the  association,  and  of  his  conviction  that  he 
was  the  man  to  build  it  up.  "At  the  time," 
Mr.  Manierre  writes,  "  the  organization  could 
only  give  him  enough  to  pay  his  board."  He 
told  McBurney  that  if  at  any  time  an  amount 
was  not  taken  in  at  the  rooms  sufficient  to  make 
up  the  $5.00  per  week  named  as  compensation, 

55 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

he  would  personally  be  responsible  for  the 
balance.  He  was  never  called  on  to  make  good 
any  deficiency. 

McBurney  said  he  would  gladly  take  the  place. 
The  minutes  of  the  board  of  directors'  meeting 
of  the  New  York  association,  under  date  of 
July  fourteenth,  1862,  state,  "The  committee  on 
rooms  reported  that  they  had  engaged  Mr. 
McBurney  as  librarian,  at  a  salary  of  $5.00  per 
week."  A  pencil  memorandum  subsequently 
made  on  the  authority  of  McBurney,  simply 
says:   "  Commenced  work  July  eleventh,  1862." 

Whether  McBurney  had  been  a  member  of 
the  association  prior  to  this  time  is  uncertain. 
It  is  known  that  he  attended  its  religious  meet- 
ings, and  was  active  in  some  features  of  its 
religious  work.  He  attended  most  of  the  meet- 
ings of  the  association  during  the  discussions 
in  1856  and  1857  which  had  nearly  broken  up 
the  organization. 

That  he  took  part  in  the  practical  work  of 
the  association,  appears  from  this  note  with  the 
association  heading,  dated  June  twenty-fifth, 
1862,  a  few  weeks  before  he  became  librarian: 

Robert  McBurney,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir: — Your  attendance  is  requested  at  the  Hos- 
pital, Lexington  Avenue  and  Fifty-first  Street,  on  Friday, 
the  27th  inst. ,  at  9  o'clock,  p.m.,  to  act  as  watcher.  If 
unable  to  attend,  please  notify  me.  It  is  understood  that 
your  services  are  gratuitous. 

Yours  truly, 
(Signed)  James  S.  Stearns, 

Chairman,  Committee  on  Hospitals. 

The  minutes  for  July  twenty-eighth,  stated: 
"  R.  R.  McBurney  was   proposed   as  a  member 

56 


McBurney' s  First  Tears  as  Secretary 

by  J.  L.  Hastie,"  and  subsequent  records  show 
that  he  was  duly  elected  on  August  twenty-fifth. 

Mr.  Manierre  recalls  of  him  at  this  time: 
"  McBurney  was  well  acquainted,  and  had  a  fac- 
ulty of  making  friends.  I  was  convinced  he 
would  bring  in  many  new  members."  He  re- 
members also  that  the  young  librarian  had  much 
to  do  with  turning  the  tide  of  affairs. 

A  glimpse  of  the  state  of  things  that  summer 
is  afforded  by  a  remark  in  a  personal  letter 
written  by  Frank  W.  Ballard,  July  third,  1862: 
"We  are  hard  at  work  trying  to  lift  the  asso- 
ciation out  of  the  slough  of  despond  into  which 
several  years  of  unfortunate  management  had 
plunged  it,  and  we  hope  to  do  it  effectually." 

It  is  significant  of  McBurney's  idea  of  the 
association  at  that  time  that,  at  his  request,  the 
board  passed  on  July  twenty-eighth,  its  second 
meeting  after  his  election,  a  resolution  that  the 
librarian  be  authorized  to  arrange  for  a  noonday 
prayer-meeting  under  the  supervision  of  the 
committee  on  rooms.  It  is  also  interesting  that, 
as  agent  of  this  committee,  he  was  instructed  to 
exclude  from  the  rooms  those  not  entitled  to 
the  privileges  of  the  association. 

Part  of  the  work  included  under  McBurney's 
duties  was  that  of  janitor.  He  began  his  ac- 
tivities as  an  employee  by  sweeping  out  the 
rooms,  which  were  in  a  very  untidy  condition. 
They  were  then  located  in  the  Bible  House.  He 
acted  in  this  capacity  until  October  thirteenth, 
when  the  committee  on  rooms  was  authorized 
by  the  board  to  hire  a  janitor  to  clean  the  place 
at  a  cost  not  to  exceed  fifty  cents  a  week. 

While  McBurney  had  always  had  in  miud  a 

57 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

business  career,  and  still  cherished  it  during  the 
two  and  one-half  years  of  his  first  connection 
with  the  New  York  association,  and  while  there 
is  little  doubt  that  he  looked  upon  this  connec- 
tion as  simply  a  temporary  service,  an  event 
occurred  shortly  after  his  entrance  upon  his  du- 
ties which  had  a  profound  influence  upon  his 
later  life.  The  year  he  became  librarian  of  the 
association,  on  a  holiday,  a  stranger  came  into 
the  rooms  to  spend  some  leisure  hours.  Mc- 
Burney directed  his  attention  to  the  young  man, 
quickly  came  into  sympathetic  conversation  with 
him,  learned  that  he  was  not  a  Christian,  and 
before  the  afternoon  was  over  had  led  him  to 
accept  Jesus  Christ  as  his  Saviour.  The  happi- 
ness which  this  event  brought  to  the  young 
worker  made  him  long  to  devote  his  life  to 
Christian  work.  Later  in  life  he  testified  that 
this  incident  ultimately  determined  his  choice  of 
Christian  service  as  a  life  work.  It  is  clear, 
however,  that  he  did  not  at  this  time  decide  to 
devote  his  life  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  Only  the  most  daringly  prophetic 
eye  could  then  see  in  the  association  the  oppor- 
tunity for  a  career.  It  was  only  in  later  years 
that  McBurney  surrendered  the  idea  that  the 
secretaryship  was  a  place  to  be  filled  for  a  lim- 
ited number  of  years  by  a  man  while  in  the 
freshness  of  youth,  who  only  at  that  age — ac- 
cording to  his  view — would  be  attractive  to 
young  men.  It  is  said  of  McBurney  that  at  first 
he  believed  a  secretary  should  give  way  to  a 
successor  on  attaining  the  age  of  thirty;  that  as 
he  approached  that  age  himself  he  advanced  it 
to  thirty-five;   and  then  adapted  his  theory  to 

58 


McBurney  s  First  Years  as  Secretary 

forty  years,  as  his  own  maturity  demanded  such 
revision.  Finally  this  theory  was  abandoned. 
His  reluctance  to  give  up  this  view  was  due  to 
his  life-long  belief  in  young  men.  When  he 
was  nearly  sixty  years  of  age,  in  writing  to  one 
of  the  board  of  directors  at  Worcester,  Mass., 
he  said:  "I  thoroughly  believe  in  young  men  as 
secretaries.  They  generally  do  their  best 
work,  and  are  on  their  mettle  more  than  older 
men." 

A  study  of  his  life  shows  emphatically  that  he 
grew  into  the  work,  and  himself  developed  with 
it.  Whatever  may  have  been  his  views  as  to 
the  future,  and  although  he  left  the  New  York 
association  for  a  few  months,  in  this  experimen- 
tal and  formative  period  he  was  unconsciously 
preparing  for  his  career.  It  has  been  said  that 
the  men  of  great  and  stirring  powers,  who  shape 
the  age  in  which  they  live,  must  first  themselves 
be  molded  by  their  times.  Somewhat  similarly 
it  may  be  said  that  the  men  who  accomplish 
their  work  through  influence  upon  other  char- 
acters and  the  direction  of  other  men  must  first 
themselves  be  influenced  and  developed  by  con- 
tact with  others.  Such  education  McBurney 
received  by  coming  in  contact  in  his  young  man- 
hood with  a  group  of  strong  and  leading  char- 
acters. 

This  group  of  men  who  influenced  him,  and 
whom  he  came  himself  in  time  to  influence  in 
their  activities  in  behalf  of  young  men,  grew  in 
numbers  from  year  to  year.  In  the  first  year  of 
his  association  work,  two  were  conspicuous: 
they  were  named  by  Mr.  Frank  W.  Ballard  in 
a  private  letter  dated  January,  1863,  in  which  he 

59 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

said  to  a  friend,  "Manierre  and  Brainerd  are 
the  backbone  of  the  association." 

With  the  revival  of  the  work  after  the  war, 
a  number  of  the  most  prominent  names  in  busi- 
ness and  philanthropic  circles  in  New  York  are 
found  in  the  management  of  the  association. 
McBurney  learned  much  from  these  men. 

In  a  memorial  address  soon  after  McBurney's 
death  Mr.  Brainerd  said:  "When  I  met  Mc- 
Burney, and  for  some  time  thereafter,  the  pre- 
dominating quality  which  he  exhibited  was  that 
of  diffidence.  True,  he  was  kindly,  genial,  and 
pleasing,  but  he  was  extremely  modest  and  re- 
tiring. He  was  active  in  Sunday-school  work, 
but  I  believe  he  had  never  spoken  in  any  meet- 
ing public  in  its  character.  It  was  probably  true 
that  he  was  willing  to  take  part  in  the  devotional 
services  of  his  own  church,  because  it  was  there 
the  custom  for  all  persons  to  kneel  during  prayer, 
and  so  he  could  be  heard  practically  from  a 
place  of  concealment,  being  hidden  by  the  back 
of  the  benches.  At  that  early  date  he  exhibited 
none  of  those  larger  qualities  which  afterwards 
distinguished  him.  He  was  neither  a  reader 
nor  a  student,  and  his  familiarity  with  affairs 
seemed  to  have  come  solely  from  a  good  knowl- 
edge of  the  moderate  business  in  which  he  had 
been  engaged  as  a  clerk.  From  the  time  of  my 
first  acquaintance  with  him,  he  rapidly  advanced, 
taking  no  step  backwards  to  the  end.  No  man 
I  have  ever  known  grew  more  steadily,  or  in  a 
more  shapely  way,  than  Mr.  McBurney.  In  the 
largest  sense  of  the  words  he  was  a  thoroughly 
self-made  man. 

"He  had  a  wonderful  faculty  for  the  acquisi- 
60 


McBurnef s  First  Tears  as  Secretary 

tion  of  knowledge.  All  was  fish  that  came  to 
his  net.  Wherever  he  was,  whatever  he  was 
doing,  with  whomsoever  he  was,  this  wonderful 
acquisitive  faculty  was  in  constant  operation. 
What  he  read,  heard,  and  saw,  his  strong  mem- 
ory retained,  and  the  quickness  of  his  faculties 
enabled  him  to  employ  as  occasion  might  require, 
so  that  he  became  a  wise  instructor,  a  judicious 
adviser,  a  thorough  executive,  an  educated  man. 

"  During  his  early  career  in  the  association, 
there  was  on  its  management  and  upon  its  com- 
mittees a  group  of  extremely  able,  wise,  and 
public-spirited  men.  Its  affairs,  the  principles 
upon  which  it  was  founded,  the  work  which  it 
could  consistently  undertake,  were  thoroughly 
and  carefully  discussed  by  these  men.  What  a 
school  he  attended  in  those  earlier  days;  the 
educational  power  of  those  long  discussions  of 
principles,  of  methods,  of  ways  and  means,  the 
interviews  with  gentlemen  whom  it  was  hoped 
would  be  interested,  can  hardly  be  over-esti- 
mated. Few  men  ever  attended  so  complete  an 
institution  for  instruction  in  the  qualities  and 
powers  which  Mr.  McBurney  afterwards  ex- 
hibited in  such  effective  fullness." 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  diversion  of 
much  or  most  of  the  association's  activities  into 
channels  created  by  the  war.  The  appointment 
of  the  army  committee,  out  of  which  grew  the 
Christian  Commission,  was  a  notable  enterprise. 
During  the  years  from  1862  to  1863,  Cephas 
Brainerd  was  chairman  of  the  army  and  navy 
committee.  This  committee  under  his  leader- 
ship undertook,  in  the  fall  of  1862,  to  raise  a 
regiment  to  be  composed  of  Christian  men — the 

61 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

famous  176th  New  York,  popularly  known  as 
the  Ironsides  Regiment.  Mr.  Ballard  says  of  it 
in  one  of  his  letters  in  January,  1863:  "  It  was 
well  officered,  and  comprised  a  body  of  men 
second  in  character  to  none  of  our  state  regi- 
ments that  have  preceded  it.  In  a  religious 
sense,  it  is  not  fully  equal  to  the  high  standard 
originally  adopted  for  it,  yet  even  in  these 
respects  I  hold  that  no  regiment  has  left  the 
state  so  well  leavened  with  pious  men  and  true 
patriots  as  did  the  176th." 

The  carrying  through  of  this  project  aroused 
great  enthusiasm  in  which  McBurney  deeply 
shared.  He  desired  to  join  those  who  went 
from  the  association  to  the  field,  and  enlisted  for 
the  purpose.  To  his  marked  disappointment, 
however,  he  was  rejected  on  physical  grounds. 

While  the  New  York  association  was  active 
in  work  among  the  soldiers,  McBurney's  chief 
attention  was  directed  to  the  needs  of  the  young 
men  of  the  city  itself.  A  statement  appears 
in  the  report  for  1863:  "Though  we  would  not 
relax  effort  for  the  soldiers  while  needed,  our 
minds  are  thrown  back  irresistibly  upon  the 
claims  of  the  150,000  young  men  at  our  very 
doors."  Through  the  remainder  of  the  war 
the  home  work  received  steadily  increasing 
attention. 

From  the  time,  in  the  spring  of  1862,  that 
Messrs.  Stebbins,  Brainerd,  Manierre,  Ballard, 
and  their  associates,  seconded  by  the  New  York 
clergy,  set  out  to  revive  the  association,  condi- 
tions and  hopes  steadily  brightened.  In  January, 
1863,  Mr.  Ballard  wrote:  "The  association  is  in 
a    healthy    state    and    with    good    prospects." 

62 


McBurney'  s  First  Tears  as  Secretary 

Each  succeeding  annual  report  rings  with  a 
more  encouraging  and  more  gratifying  tone. 
The  membership  steadily  grew,  and  in  this 
growth  McBurney's  presence  was  an  important 
factor.  That  he  was  well  liked  by  the  young 
men  was  remembered  by  those  who  knew  him 
at  that  time.  On  April  eighth,  1863,  his  salary 
was  raised  to  $1 2.00  a  week.  The  minutes  show 
that  this  was  at  his  own  request.  The  associa- 
tion showed  its  appreciation  of  him,  for  at  the 
annual  election  in  May  of  1863  he  was  chosen 
recording  secretary,  and  at  the  same  time  he 
was  elected  to  membership  on  the  board  of 
directors. 

In  July  of  1863,  McBurney  was  put  on  a 
committee  with  Mr.  Brainerd  for  aggressive 
work  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  and  in  Feb- 
ruary of  1864  he  was  made  chairman  of  the 
committee  to  establish  a  prayer-meeting  at  the 
eye  and  ear  hospital.  The  minutes  indicate 
that,  as  a  member  of  the  board,  he  took  an 
unhesitating  and  active  part  in  its  proceedings. 

Ever  since  the  re-establishment  of  the  asso- 
ciation's influence,  its  leaders  had  recognized 
the  desirability  of  re-enlisting  the  active  support 
of  the  group  of  representative  young  men  who 
had  withdrawn  on  account  of  the  political 
discussions  in  1856  and  1857.  Mr.  Stebbins, 
who  was  again  president,  had  great  influence 
with  this  body  of  young  men.  He,  with  others, 
earnestly  represented  the  opportunity  for  Chris- 
tian work  which  the  association  presented  to 
men  of  influence.  Out  of  this  effort  followed 
meetings  at  the  homes  of  Messrs.  Wm.  E. 
Dodge,  Jr.,  Riley  A.  Brick,  and  James  Stokes. 

63 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

These  were  attended  by  some  "eighty  prominent 
Christian  young  men,"  in  the  main  made  up  of 
those  who  had  withdrawn  on  account  of  the 
dissensions  before  the  war.  The  first  of  these 
meetings  was  about  to  break  up  without  result 
when  Mr.  Stokes  secured  arrangements  for 
another.  These  meetings  resulted  in  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  to  confer  with  the 
board  of  directors.  A  special  meeting  of  the 
board  was  held  on  March  twenty-fourth,  1864,  to 
consider  a  proposition  of  union  submitted  by 
this  committee.  Mr.  Brainerd  and  Mr.  Stebbins 
were  appointed  to  confer. 

However,  one  important  demand  was  made 
by  some  of  the  outside  group  who  were  dissatis- 
fied with  the  constitutional  basis  of  membership. 
There  were  some  who  wished  to  have  "the  bars 
let  down."  They  did  not  wish  the  control  of 
the  organization  to  be  restricted  to  members  of 
evangelical  churches.  A  compromise  agree- 
ment was  reached  on  April  twenty-first,  1864, 
when  the  report  of  the  joint  committee  on  re- 
union was  adopted  by  the  association.  The  con- 
stitution was  amended  in  these  words  :  "Any 
man  of  good  moral  character,  under  forty  years 
of  age,  may  become,  and  thereafter  continue,  an 
active  member  by  the  payment  in  advance  of 
$2.00  annually.  Active  and  life  members  only 
shall  have  the  right  to  vote.  All  officers  and 
directors  of  the  association  shall  be  active  or  life 
members  and  members  in  good  standing  of 
evangelical  churches  in  the  city  of  New  York." 
By  this  compromise,  the  former  distinction 
between  active  and  associate  members  was 
changed,  and  for  some  years  the   New  York  as- 

64 


McBurnef  s  First  Tears  as  Secretary 

sociation  only  required  that  its  officers  and 
directors  be  members  of  evangelical  churches. 

Mr.  William  E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  following  sugges- 
tions by  Mr.  James  Stokes,  Jr.,  wrote  out  the 
first  list  of  applications  for  membership,  which 
was  presented  and  accepted  at  this  meeting. 
The  names  were  as  follows  :  William  C.  Martin, 
G.  C.  Wetmore,  A.  P.  Sturges,  A.  D.  Shepard, 
James  Stokes,  Jr.,  Thomas  Stokes,  James  W. 
Pinchot,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  William  Walter 
Phelps,  T.  A.  Perkins,  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  C.  A. 
Miller,  Jonathan  Marshall,  J.  Crosby  Brown,  P. 
Barns,  Jr.,  R.  A.  Brick,  B.  F.  Butler,  Latimer 
Bailey,  William  Harman  Brown,  W.  S.  Doughty, 
N.  W.  Dodge,  Walter  Gibson,  E.  P.  Griffin,  E. 
E.  Houghwort,  Alexander  G.  Knapp,  J.  C.  Lord, 
and  G.  DeF.  Lord.  Others  of  the  same  group 
followed  at  later  meetings. 

At  the  annual  election,  in  the  following 
month,  May,  1864,  among  the  new  names  on  the 
board  of  directors  were:  J.  Pierpont  Morgan, 
Jas.  Stokes,  R.  A.  Brick,  William  F.  Lee,  E.  D. 
Whitney,  and  William  Harman  Brown.  Mr. 
Dodge  declined  election  to  the  board  at  this 
time.  Mr.  Brown  and  Mr.  Morgan  were  placed 
on  the  finance  committee,  Mr.  Stebbins  remained 
as  president,  and  McBurney  as  recording  secre- 
tary. 

With  this  reunion  began  the  modern  era  in 
the  New  York  association.  It  brought  harmony 
and  new  life.  It  gave  an  impulse  to  the  devel- 
opment of  the  work,  which  makes  the  year  1864 
one  of  the  turning-points  in  its  history.  The 
organization  immediately  took  hold  vigorously 
of    projects    for    improvement.       Conspicuous 

65 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

among  these  was  a  plan,  proposed  by  J.  Pier- 
pont  Morgan,  who  pointed  out  that  young  men 
could  not  be  attracted  to  the  old  rooms  on  an 
upper  floor  of  the  Bible  House.  Under  his 
leadership,  the  association  moved,  in  the  fall  of 
1864,  to  attractive  apartments  rented  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Fifth  Avenue  and  Twenty-second  Street. 
Mr.  Morgan  followed  this  by  urging  the  desirabil- 
ity of  artistic  furniture,  and  under  his  influence, 
the  directors,  to  the  surprise  of  some  of  them, 
willingly  voted  for  the  expenditure  involved  in 
obtaining  fine  carpets,  and  in  having  furniture 
made  especially  for  the  rooms.  The  member- 
ship grew  rapidly  and  steadily  thereafter,  and 
the  scope  of  the  work  was  greatly  enlarged. 
Before  this  year  closed,  on  December  four- 
teenth, by  the  consent  of  Mr.  Wm.  E.  Dodge, 
Jr.,  to  become  a  director,  the  association  received 
a  factor  in  its  leadership  which  was  to  continue 
until  the  present  time,  and  which  was  to  make 
practicable  much  of  the  best  progress  and 
achievement  of  the  organization. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  December,  Mr.  Brain- 
erd  as  chairman  of  the  rooms  and  library  com- 
mittee gave  notice  to  the  board  of  directors  of 
the  resignation  of  McBurney  as  librarian  after 
two  and  one-half  years  of  service.  Statement  has 
once  or  twice  been  made  to  the  effect  that  Mc- 
Burney withdrew  from  the  secretaryship  at  this 
time  because  some  of  the  board  were  of  the 
opinion  that  the  association  should  have  a  man 
better  fitted  to  present  the  work  of  the  society 
in  public  meetings.  It  is  true  that  McBurney 
was  never  much  given  to  public  speaking.  In 
those   early  days   he   seldom  spoke  on   public 

66 


McBurney  s  First  Years  as  Secretary 

occasions.  In  later  life  exceptional  incitement 
was  required  to  call  forth  his  best  efforts.  When 
once  aroused,  however,  his  oratory  was  forceful 
and  remarkably  effective.  It  was  of  the  kind 
which  turns  the  course  of  conventions  —  intense, 
clear,  and  telling. 

His  ever-present  thought  of  going  into  busi- 
ness when  a  favorable  opportunity  should  pre- 
sent itself  was  the  real  explanation  of  McBurney's 
resignation  in  December,  1864.  Already,  in  June, 
at  the  recommendation  of  Mr.  Brainerd,  his  sal- 
ary had  been  advanced  to  $800,  and  again,  on 
October  twelfth,  it  had  been  increased  to  $1,000. 
But  he  was  now  in  his  twenty-eighth  year,  and 
believing  that  a  secretary  should  be  a  young 
man,  when  he  was  approached  by  a  representa- 
tive of  the  Lorillard  Company,  who  offered  him 
a  position  in  Philadelphia,  he  accepted  and  sent 
in  his  resignation. 

During  the  following  months  he  was  far  from 
contented  in  his  business  life.  Christian  work 
had  a  stronger  hold  upon  him  than  he  realized, 
and  these  months  were  a  period  of  gloom.  Refer- 
ring to  them  many  years  later,  in  January,  1897, 
in  writing  to  a  young  man  in  business  who  was 
thinking  of  re-entering  association  work,  he  said: 
"  Your  letter  interests  me  as  all  letters  do  from 
men  whom  I  regard  with  respect  and  affection, 
who  are  considering  the  question  of  their  life 
work.  I  quite  sympathize  with  j'ou  in  the  dis- 
satisfaction which  you  have  felt  since  you  left 
association  work,  having  had  a  like  experience 
many  years  ago." 

In  a  letter  a  little  later  to  a  secretary  who  had 
been  called  to  one  of  the  branches  in  New  York 

67 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

City,  he  wrote:  "It  is  a  great  deal  of  a  wrench 
to  leave  one's  field.  I  know  something  of  it, 
for  I  have  had  personal  experience.  At  one 
time  I  deemed  it  my  duty  to  resign  and  I  did 
resign,  and'  I  spent  nights  of  weariness  and  pain 
at  leaving  the  work  into  which  I  had  thrown 
all  the  enthusiasm  of  my  youth,  and  the  city 
than  which  no  city  is  more  loved  by  those  who 
live  in  it.  .  .  .  It  was  a  great  struggle  with  me, 
but  I  accomplished  it,  with  God's  blessing." 

In  the  three  months  that  McBurney  was  gone 
from  the  association,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
weeks'  trial  of  another  man,  the  organization 
was  without  a  secretary.  In  January  the  board 
passed  a  resolution  that  it  was  inexpedient  at 
that  time  to  elect  a  secretary,  but  the  need 
of  a  man  for  this  office  was  strongly  felt.  On 
March  fourth,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Dodge,  the  ex- 
ecutive committee  were  asked  to  make  it  their 
special  work  through  the  succeeding  week  to 
secure  a  secretary.  However,  they  were  not 
successful;  and  on  March  twenty-fifth  a  reception 
which  had  been  planned  was  given  up  until  a  new 
secretary  should  be  appointed.  Under  the  same 
date  the  board  minutes  relate  that  the  motion  of 
the  executive  committee  concerning  the  re-em- 
ployment of  McBurney  as  secretary  was  dis- 
cussed, and  it  was  resolved  that  the  matter  be 
referred  to  the  executive  committee  with  power. 

Mr.  Brainerd  had  been  in  frequent  corre- 
spondence with  McBurney,  and  had  learned  that 
he  was  not  satisfied  in  his  business  position.  The 
service  in  the  association  had  made  him  restless 
in  any  calling  which  did  not  directly  contribute 
to  winning  men  to  Christ.     It  cannot  now  be 

68 


WILLIAM    E.    DODGE 


McBurney' s  First  Tears  as  Secretary 

ascertained  whether  McBurney  was  called  back 
to  the  New  York  work  from  Philadelphia,  or 
whether  he  first  relinquished  his  position  and  re- 
turned to  the  city.  But  on  April  fifteenth,  1865, 
the  minutes  state,  "That  Mr.  Brainerd  moved 
the  election  of  Mr.  McBurney  to  the  board," 
and  also,  "That  on  his  motion  Mr.  McBurney 
was  elected  to  the  office  of  recording  secretary 
and  librarian."  On  April  seventeenth,  McBur- 
ney was  present  at  the  meeting  of  the  board, 
and  again  acted  as  recording  secretary.  While 
the  board  voted  to  re-engage  McBurney,  it  is 
interesting  to  recall  that  the  executive  commit- 
tee of  five,  to  whom  the  matter  had  been  re- 
ferred, were  not  united  in  recommending  him, 
three  favoring  his  recall  and  two  opposing  it. 

One  sketch  of  McBurney's  life  states  that  he 
refused  to  accept  an  increase  of  salary  which 
was  offered  him  as  an  inducement  to  return.  In 
a  large  sense,  one  of  McBurney's  eminent  qual- 
ities was  business  ability.  Mr.  William  E.  Dodge, 
Sr.,  is  quoted  as  saying  that  McBurney  "would 
have  made  a  business  man  of  the  first  rank." 
There  is  no  doubt  that  he  had  the  foresight  and 
executive  qualities  for  business  success.  He 
was,  however,  careless  of  accumulating  money. 
One  of  his  closest  friends  has  said,  "  He  did  not 
know  how  to  count  the  pennies,  at  least  for  him- 
self. We  had  to  fight  to  increase  his  salary." 
His  interest  lay  emphatically  in  the  direction  of 
religious  work,  and  he  returned  to  the  New  York 
secretaryship  with  singleness  of  purpose,  with 
new  zeal,  and  an  unfaltering  determination  to 
devote  his  life  to  Christian  work.  These  two 
and  one-half  years  of  service  for  the  New  York 

69 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

association  during  the  war  period  were  impor- 
tant ones  for  McBurney.  They  determined  his 
career  as  a  Christian  worker.  They  awakened 
in  him  a  desire  for  service  which  could  not  be 
quenched,  and  while  he  was  not  yet  fully 
equipped  for  the  great  work  of  leadership  in  the 
associations,  he  had  passed  the  first  stage  of  his 
preparation. 

We  traced  at  the  beginning  of  this  narrative 
McBurney' s  early  life  and  his  development  as  an 
active  Christian  worker  and  a  young  man  in  a 
modest  business  position  in  New  York  City.  We 
then  turned  aside  to  study  the  growth  and  char- 
acteristics of  the  organization  to  whose  develop- 
ment he  was  to  give  his  life.  In  the  chapter 
which  now  closes  we  have  seen  McBurney  in  his 
first  contact  with  this  organization.  We  are  now 
to  observe  how  he  grew  side  by  side  with  the 
work  to  which  he  gave  his  powers.  He  gave 
much  but  it  may  be  said  that  he  received  more. 
He  lost  his  life  but  he  found  it  many-fold. 


70 


CHAPTER  V 

McBURNEY  AS    SECRETARY   DURING   THE 
BUILDING  PERIOD  FROM   1865  TO   1870 

Return  to  association  work  marks  off  a 
period  in  McBurney's  life  distinct  from  all 
preceding  it.  With  this  began  the  real  develop- 
ment of  the  association  secretaryship  as  now 
conceived.  It  so  happened  that  simultaneously 
began  a  definite  development  in  the  New  York 
association  history  which  may  be  characterized 
as  the  building  movement.  Its  date  properly 
begins  with  the  election  to  the  presidency  of 
William  E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  in  May,  1865.  Gradually 
in  the  development  of  this  work,  the  contact 
between  the  secretary  and  the  president  nurtured 
an  intimacy  and  a  friendship  which  grew  with 
the  passing  years.  Mr.  Dodge  became  at  once 
the  most  prominent  member  of  the  board  of 
directors,  and  it  was  largely  through  his  influ- 
ence that  the  association  took  a  commanding 
place  before  the  Christian  public. 

McBurney  was  henceforth  called  correspond- 
ing secretary,  a  title  which  the  New  York 
association  retained  until  1883,  long  after 
the  term  of  general  secretary  had  been  ap- 
plied to  this  officer  by  the  American  associa- 
tions. McBurney's  sphere  of  action  renders 
specific  tracing  of  his  share  in  events  difficult. 
Others  took  the  public  parts;  his  work  was 
through  them,  from  behind  the  scenes,  by  in- 

71 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

direct  influence,  organizing,  suggesting,  and 
directing. 

As  the  work  developed,  McBurney  arranged 
a  careful  system  for  the  financial  affairs  of  the 
association.  All  funds  were  passed  through  the 
hands  of  one  treasurer,  who  paid  bills  only  on 
the  order  of  the  chairman  of  the  finance  com- 
mittee. 

It  was  early  in  this  period  that  McBurney 
grasped  the  idea  of  an  all-round  work  for  young 
men,  including  the  physical  as  well  as  the  social, 
intellectual,  and  spiritual.  McBurney  related 
later  to  one  of  the  New  York  physical  directors 
(Dr.  J.  H.  McCurdy),  that  William  Wood,  who 
had  previously  conducted  a  gymnasium,  came 
to  him  at  about  this  time  and  proposed  that 
physical  work  be  taken  up  under  association 
auspices,  and  offered  his  services  and  gymnasium 
for  this  purpose.  McBurney  then  conceived  the 
idea  of  adding  a  gymnasium  to  the  association's 
facilities. 

The  New  York  association  stood  before  the 
country  as  the  leader  in  work  specifically  for 
young  men.  McBurney  became  one  of  the 
insistent  advocates  of  this  singleness  of  aim.  In 
his  first  annual  report,  President  Dodge  wrote: 
"Avoiding  all  side  issues  or  distracting  questions, 
the  single  aim  of  all  exertion  has  been  how  best 
to  reach  with  kindly  sympathy  the  great  number 
of  young  men  in  our  city,  and  to  elevate  them, 
morally,  socially,  and  physically,  to  a  true 
Christian  manhood.  The  work  has  become 
more  practical  and  direct  as  experience  has 
shown  what  to  do  and  what  to  avoid." 

It  was  at  Philadelphia,  during  June,  1865, 
72 


Secretary  During  Building  Period 

that  McBurney  attended  his  first  International 
convention.  This  opened  his  eyes  to  the  impor- 
tance of  the  association  movement  throughout 
the  country,  and  marks  his  introduction  into  the 
larger  phases  of  association  activity. 

But  the  great  work  of  this  period  was  secur- 
ing a  home  for  the  association.  Twice  before 
attempts  had  been  made  in  this  direction.  Dur- 
ing Professor  Crosby's  presidency  it  had  been 
proposed  to  raise  $50,000  for  this  purpose,  and 
a  later  attempt  was  considered  during  the  war. 
It  was  seen  by  the  leaders  that  the  association 
could  not  do  the  great  work  before  it  among 
young  men  without  adequate  facilities.  While 
it  remained  a  purely  religious  endeavor,  it 
might  be  possible  to  conduct  meetings  and. 
Bible  classes  with  a  limited  equipment,  but  now 
that  the  association  was  to  become  an  agency 
for  the  culture  of  Christian  manhood,  for  the 
development  of  young  men  in  body,  mind,  and 
spirit,  it  was  necessary  that  a  suitable  building 
should  be  provided. 

On  November  twenty-fifth,  1865,  Mr.  McBur- 
ney moved,  in  the  board,  "that  a  committee  of 
five,  of  which  the  president  shall  be  one,  be  ap- 
pointed to  consider  and  report  at  the  next  meet- 
ing of  the  board  a  plan  for  a  building  suitable 
to  the  wants  of  the  association,  an  estimate  of 
its  cost,  and  a  scheme  for  raising  the  necessary 
funds."  Associated  with  Mr.  Dodge  on  this 
committee  were  Cephas  Brainerd,  S.  D.  Hatch, 
William  F.  Lee,  and  William  Harman  Brown. 
In  a  later  stage  of  the  development,  McBurney 
became  the  secretary  of  the  building  committee, 
with  Mr.   Dodge  as  chairman,  and  J.  Pierpont 

73 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

Morgan,  Cephas  Brainerd,  and  Abner  W.  Col- 
gate as  the  other  members. 

Speaking  of  McBurney  later,  Mr.  Dodge 
said  :  "  He  put  this  association  on  a  strong  basis. 
He  arranged  its  organization,  which  has  been  a 
guide  for  the  organization  of  associations  every- 
where. He,  however,  soon  found  the  necessity 
for  a  building.  The  association  must  have  a 
home,  bright  and  cheerful,  full  of  all  sorts  of 
things  which  would  reach  young  men  away  from 
their  homes,  and  help  them  to  keep  strong  and 
clear  of  temptation.  This  building  speaks  to 
some  of  us  very  touchingly  of  McBurney. 
There  is  not  a  room  or  a  corner  of  it  but  he  de- 
signed. It  was  absolutely  a  new  thing  in  those 
days.  Every  part  of  it  was  thought  out  so 
kindly  and  thoroughly  that,  although  finer  build- 
ings and  grander  ones  have  been  built  in  other 
places,  not  one  of  them  was  put  up  without  hav- 
ing for  its  principal  arrangement  those  plans 
which  he  devised  and  which  have  stood  the  test 
of  time."  It  might  with  almost  equal  justice  be 
said  that  Mr.  Dodge  was  himself  the  builder  of 
this  building.  It  was  really  an  evolution — the 
work  of  the  secretary,  the  committee,  the  board, 
and  the  architects,  but  in  it  all  was  the  ever-pres- 
ent and  guiding  influence  of  McBurney. 

In  speaking  of  Mr.  Dodge's  relation  to  this 
building  many  years  later,  McBurney  wrote 
to  a  gentleman  in  Philadelphia:  "It  is  to  the 
present  William  E.  Dodge  that  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  (New  York)  is  chiefly  in- 
debted for  the  building  which  cost  $487,000,  of 
which  Mr.  Dodge  contributed  over  $75,000." 

To  create  the  sentiment  which  would  make 

74 


Secretary  During  Building  Period 

possible  the  securing  of  the  fund  for  this  build- 
ing, it  was  found  necessary  to  make  a  careful 
study  of  the  lives  and  habits  of  the  young  men  of 
New  York  City,  and  the  conditions  under  which 
they  lived.  This  proved  a  far-reaching  en- 
deavor. It  not  only  awakened  the  board  of 
directors  to  the  appalling  need  of  work  for 
young  men,  and  so  put  new  zeal  into  the  build- 
ing movement,  but  the  revelations  regarding 
the  temptations  which  surrounded  young  men 
led  to  the  enactment  of  laws  against  obscene 
literature,  and  the  formation  of  the  New  York 
Society  for  the  Suppression  of  Vice. 

As  a  result  of  this  study,  a  document,  which 
was  a  contribution  of  permanent  value  to  socio- 
logical investigation,  was  prepared  by  Cephas 
Brainerd  and  McBurney.  Speaking  of  this  in 
the  annual  report,  Mr.  Dodge  said:  "During  the 
past  year  many  careful  investigations  have  been 
made  as  to  the  number  and  condition  of  young 
men  in  this  city,  their  employment,  their  homes, 
the  few  means  at  present  for  helping  and  ele- 
vating them,  and  the  immense  and  terrible  array 
of  temptations  which  surround  them  on  every 
side.  The  facts  arrived  at  have  been  so  start- 
ling as  to  awaken  the  greatest  interest  and  sur- 
prise. With  the  greatly  increased  cost  of  living 
during  the  last  few  years,  the  position  of  young 
men,  crowded  in  boarding-houses,  has  become 
more  and  more  discouraging.  Coming  mostly 
from  country  or  foreign  homes,  friendless  and 
alone  in  a  great  city,  away  from  restraint,  they 
have  easily  and  naturally  given  way  to  the 
temptation  of  finding  a  substitute  for  home  in 
the  bright,  cheery  rooms  where  vice  is  most  at- 

75 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

tractive.  These  are  almost  the  only  inviting 
places  where  they  find  a  free  and  cordial  wel- 
come." 

The  document  referred  to  was  published  in 
February,  1866,  under  the  title  of  "A  Memo- 
randum Respecting  New  York  as  a  Field  for 
Moral  and  Christian  Effort  Among  Young  Men, 
Its  Present  Neglect,  and  the  Fitness  of  the  New 
York  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  as  a 
Principal  Agency  for  Its  Due  Cultivation."  An 
edition  of  1,000  copies  was  privately  circulated. 
The  plan  adopted  in  the  pamphlet  was  the  pre- 
sentation of  bare  facts,  which  were  left  the  more 
bare  by  their  arrangement  in  the  form  of  a  syl- 
labus. Some  points  presented  in  the  first  sec- 
tion were:  "A  male  population  between  the  ages 
of  fifteen  and  forty  of  181,592;  prominence  of 
strangers;  the  diversion  of  attention  by  employ- 
ers from  the  social  and  moral  interests  of  young 
men;  the  general  inadequacy  of  salaries  to  the 
cost  of  living;  the  increased  exclusiveness  of 
society;  herding  of  the  virtuous  and  vicious  in 
boarding-houses  to  which  they  were  driven  by 
limited  incomes."  The  pamphlet  next  discussed 
the  injurious  influences  operating  among  young 
men  in  the  city;  billiard  saloons  having  653  ta- 
bles; thirteen  theaters,  with  an  income  for  four 
of  them  of  $665,500  per  year;  "gambling  hells 
and  places  on  almost  every  street  where  lottery 
tickets  and  policies  might  be  obtained;  7,786 
licensed  porter  houses  and  bar-rooms,  with  a 
daily  consumption  of  600  barrels  of  spirits;  ob- 
scene books  and  papers  to  be  obtained  at  very 
many  newspaper-stands;  223  concert  saloons 
employing    1,191    waiter  girls,   prostitutes  with 

76 


Secretary  During  Building  Period 

few  exceptions,  attracting  29,900  daily  visitors, 
principally  young  men;  at  present,  730  houses 
of  prostitution  and  assignation,  sheltering  3,400 
females."  The  document  makes  an  estimate  that 
the  sum  of  $4,000,000  is  annually  expended 
upon  vice.  A  summary  was  then  made  of  the 
inadequate  facilities  for  the  moral  and  religious 
culture  of  young  men.  As  to  churches,  the 
pamphlet  said:  "The  proportion  of  young  men 
who  attend  services  is  much  less  than  that  of 
any  other  class  of  the  population.  A  most  in- 
considerable number  are  within  the  reach  of 
these  religious  influences.  Other  causes  than 
mere  insufficiency  of  room  operate  to  restrict 
the  attendance:  the  exclusiveness,  more  or  less 
necessary,  largely  prevailing  among  the  regular 
attendants  of  many  of  the  churches;  the  lack  of 
social  feeling  and  sympathy  with  young  men 
which  has  largely  increased  during  the  past 
few  years;  the  cost  of  sittings  in  the  more  at- 
tractive churches;  the  unwillingness  of  young 
men  to  accept  charity  in  the  form  of  mere  mis- 
sion churches;  the  unattractive  character  of 
many  others  in  which  the  price  of  sittings  is 
more  moderate."  The  document  then  urged 
that  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  was 
the  only  organization  in  the  city  which  contem- 
plated the  especial  field  of  young  men;  and  after 
giving  a  summary  of  its  activities  and  aims,  con- 
cludes with  an  appeal  for  a  building:  "But  it 
cannot  be  supposed  that  an  agency  of  such  pos- 
sibilities and  promise  can,  when  confined  to  two 
small  rooms,  though  tasteful  and  pleasant,  in  any 
considerable  degree  perform  the  work  for  the 
young  men  of  New  York  which  the  statements 

77 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

we  have  made  show  to  be  now  most  imperatively 

needed There   are    many    more   young 

men  within  the  immediate  influence  of  the  asso- 
ciation than  its  present  resources  can  in  any  way 
fitly  provide  for.  The  call  which  the  whole  body 
of  young  men  in  this  city  now  makes  requires  a 
central  building  so  arranged  that  rental  of  por- 
tions of  it  will  pay  the  working  expenses  of  the 
main  organization,  so  that  the  annual  gifts  of 
the  benevolent  may  be  devoted  to  the  support 
of  branch  associations  in  various  parts  of  the 
city." 

In  addition  to  the  religious  work  to  be  done 
by  the  association,  this  pamphlet  clearly  states 
the  all-round  aim  of  the  association  for  the  body 
and  mind  as  well  as  the  spirit:  "Such  a  building 
should  plan  for  the  use  of  the  association  a 
commodious  lecture-room,  a  pleasant  and  well- 
lighted  reading-room,  room  for  a  large  and  well 
selected  circulating  library,  room  for  a  complete 
reference  library,  pleasant  conversation  rooms, 
an  unexceptionable  gymnasium,  and  other  popu- 
lar means  of  recreation,  and  suitable  accommo- 
dations for  religious  and  literary  exercises,  and 
for  the  committees  and  officers  of  the  associa- 
tion. 

"  The  prominence  which  such  a  structure 
would  give  the  association  and  its  work,  the 
assurance  of  permanence,  the  character  and 
influence  which  it  would  then  possess  in  the 
eyes  of  strangers,  would  add  immeasurably  to 
the  power  of  the  association  for  good,  and 
silently  bring  young  men  within  the  sphere  of 
its  influence." 

The  consideration  of  this  document  in  the 

78 


Secretary  During  Building  Period 

boards  of  directors  led  to  a  considerable  discus- 
sion of  section  5,  which  was  as  follows: 

"Obscene  Books  and  Papers. — The  traffic  in 
this  is  most  extensive.  As  illustrating  the 
audacity  with  which  this  temptation  is  flaunted 
in  the  faces  of  young  men,  it  may  be  stated  that 
in  one  place,  on  a  principal  thoroughfare,  there 
are  openly  exposed  for  sale  two  vile  weekly 
newspapers  which  can  be  purchased  at  ten  cents 
a  copy,  and  more  than  fifty  kinds  of  licentious 
books,  each  one  illustrated  by  one  or  two  cuts, 
at  prices  ranging  from  thirty-five  to  fifty  cents, 
while  on  each  copy  there  is  a  catalogue  of  more 
than  100  of  the  same  character.  If  the 
purchaser  manifests  a  deep  interest  in  the  books 
exposed  for  sale,  the  proprietor  will  show  him 
a  catalogue  of  a  large  number  much  more 
vulgar  and  atrocious,  illustrated  with  the  most 
obscene  cuts,  from  which  selections  can  be  made: 
The  debasing  influences  of  these  publications  on 
young  men  cannot  be  estimated.  They  are 
feeders  for  brothels." 

As  a  result  of  discussion,  on  February  twenty- 
fourth,  1866,  it  is  recorded  in  the  minutes  of  the 
board  of  directors:  "  Moved  by  Mr.  McBurney 
that  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  ex- 
amine and  report  as  to  the  matter  of  obscene 
literature."  Messrs.  Chas.  E.  Whitehead,  Cephas 
Brainerd,  and  James  H.  Fay  were  appointed  on 
this  committee. 

In  developing  the  building  movement,  it 
seemed  desirable  to  secure  some  changes  in  the 
act  of  incorporation,  and  to  arrange  for  a  board 
of  trustees.  Accordingly,  on  March  seventh,  it 
is  recorded  in  the  minutes  of  the  board,  as  in- 

79 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

troduced  by  McBurney,  "That  a  committee  of 
three  be  appointed  to  prepare  a  plan  for  the  or- 
ganization of  a  board  of  trustees  of  the  proposed 
building  for  the  association,  to  draft  a  charter 
for  the  same,  and  also  to  draft  a  charter  for  the 
special  incorporation  of  the  association."  Three 
days  later  it  was  moved  by  McBurney  "that 
Messrs.  Whitehead  and  Brainerd  proceed  to 
Albany  to  secure  the  passage  of  the  act  of  incor- 
poration for  the  association,  and  also  the  pas- 
sage of  a  saloon  bill,  and  a  bill  on  the  suppression 
of  obscene  literature."  At  this  meeting  a  com- 
mittee, of  which  McBurney  was  one,  was  ap- 
pointed to  interest  the  clergy  in  the  building 
movement.  The  act  of  incorporation  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  the  City 
of  New  York  was  passed  on  April  third,  1866. 

In  making  some  changes  in  the  constitution 
in  connection  with  the  reincorporation,  at  Mr. 
Dodge's  suggestion  the  word  physical  was  in- 
serted in  the  statement  of  purpose,  making  the 
section  read  :  "The  object  of  this  association 
shall  be  the  improvement  of  the  spiritual,  men- 
tal, social,  and  physical  condition  of  young  men." 
This  was  the  first  constitution  to  formulate  what 
has  since  been  called  the  fourfold  work  of  the 
association. 

The  bill  for  the  suppression  of  obscene  liter- 
ature was  prepared  and  presented  to  the  legis- 
lature, but  disappeared  from  the  table  on  the 
last  day  of  the  session  when  it  was  about  to  be 
acted  upon.  It  finally  became  a  law  through 
association  effort  at  a  subsequent  session. 

The  struggle  for  the  securing  of  funds  for 
the    new    building    began    in    earnest    in  the 

80 


Secretary  During  Building  Period 

spring  of  1866.  The  amount  required  seemed 
a  prodigious  figure  in  those  days,  and  the  de- 
termination to  secure  it  involved  faith  and  the 
exercise  of  strenuous,  manly  qualities.  McBur- 
ney  himself  says  of  it:  "The  erection  of  a 
building  involving  such  a  large  outlay  was  a 
heroic  undertaking.  The  position  taken  by  Mr. 
Dodge  and  his  associates,  owing  to  the  public 
confidence  in  their  sound  judgment  and  business 
experience,  at  once  arrested  the  attention  of  the 
commercial  and  Christian  public  and  impressed 
upon  them  the  importance  of  the  mission  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  The  large 
contributions  which  these  gentlemen  made  tow- 
ard the  building  gave  additional  proof  of  their 
confidence."  On  March  twenty-eighth,  1866,  a 
special  meeting  of  the  board  was  held,  whose  ob- 
ject, as  stated  by  President  Dodge,  was  "to  con- 
sider the  propriety  of  the  raising  of  a  fund  of 
$250,000  for  the  purchase  of  lots  and  the  erec- 
tion of  a  building."  The  minutes  of  the  meet- 
ing stated  that  it  was  "  moved  by  McBurney 
that  we  immediately  take  steps  to  raise  $250,- 
000,  subscriptions,  to  be  binding  when  $200,000 
is  pledged." 

In  the  canvass  for  the  funds,  the  association 
had  the  liberal  aid  of  the  New  York  press.  The 
annual  report  presented  in  the  spring  of  1866 
the  names  of  eighteen  influential  papers  which 
had  published  leading  articles  regarding  the  as- 
sociation's need  of  a  building. 

In  less  than  a  month  after  the  meeting 
named,  President  Dodge  reported  four  subscrip- 
tions of  $10,000  each,  and  before  the  end  of 
April,  the  amount  had  reached  $46,000.     In  No- 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

vember,  committees  were  appointed  to  obtain 
prices  and  estimates  on  lots,  and  to  bring  in  fur- 
ther subscriptions.  Early  in  December,  the 
subscriptions  had  amounted  to  $185,990,  and  the 
time  seemed  to  have  arrived  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  building  trustees  called  for  by  the 
act  of  incorporation.  This  board  was  appointed 
on  December  tenth,  1866,  and  consisted  of  Wil- 
liam E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  Frederick  Marquand,  Jona- 
than Sturges,  Stewart  Brown,  Robert  L.  Ken- 
nedy, Charles  C.  Colgate,  James  K.  Place,  R.  L. 
Stuart,  and  James  Stokes. 

The  search  for  suitable  property  on  which  to 
build  was  a  long  one,  and  a  number  of  different 
proposals  were  made.  On  February  twenty- 
seventh,  1867,  the  board  decided  to  purchase,  for 
$142,000,  the  lots  at  the  corner  of  Twenty-third 
Street  and  Fourth  Avenue. 

During  the  years  1867  and  1868,  strenuous 
effort  was  devoted  to  completing  the  building 
fund,  and  to  working  out  in  detail  the  plans  of 
the  new  structure,  and  superintending  its  erec- 
tion.    Ground  was  broken  January  thirteenth, 

1868,  and  the  cornerstone  was  laid  on  October 
thirty-first  of  the  same  year.  The  formal  laying 
of  the  stone  was  done  by  President  William  E. 
Dodge,  Jr.,*  who  said :  "  I  lay  this  corner-stone  in 
the  name  of  the  board  of  trustees  and  the  board 
of  directors  of  the  association,  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  mental,  social,  physical,  and  spiritual 
condition  of  young  men." 

The  building  was  completed  in   November, 

1869.  It  had  cost  for  the  lot  $142,000,  for  the 

♦Seventeenth  Annual  Report  New  York  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, page  59. 

82 


Secretary  During  Building  Period 

structure  $345,000,  a  total  of  $487,000.  Of  this 
sum,  $202,000  was  still  to  be  provided.  It  was 
decided  to  put  a  mortgage  upon  the  property, 
amounting  to  $150,000,  and  to  seek  to  raise  the 
remaining  $52,000  at  once. 

The  opening  of  the  building  attracted  great 
attention,  not  only  in  New  York  City,  but 
throughout  the  association  world.  A  private 
view  was  given  to  contributors  and  friends  of 
the  association  on  the  evening  of  November 
twenty-ninth,  at  which  addresses  were  made  by 
William  E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  Morris  K.  Jesup,  and 
others.  On  this  occasion  $30,000  were  pledged 
toward  the  debt.  On  November  thirtieth,  a 
concert  was  given  to  secure  funds  to  pay  for  a 
grand  piano  and  the  pipe  organ.  The  tickets 
were  sold  under  subscription,  and  ample  funds 
for  this  purpose  secured.  The  most  brilliant 
feature  was  the  formal  dedication  which  occurred 
on  December  second,  1869,  in  the  hall  of  the 
association.  This  hall  was  filled  to  overflowing, 
and  hundreds  who  could  not  gain  admission 
thronged  the  other  parts  of  the  building  which 
were  thrown  open  for  inspection.  On  the  plat- 
form were  seated  many  distinguished  guests, 
among  them  several  who  made  addresses  during 
the  evening:  Hon.  Schuyler  Colfax;  Hon.  J.  T. 
Hoffman,  governor  of  New  York;  Major-Gen- 
eral  O.  O.  Howard  of  the  United  States  Army; 
George  H.  Stuart  of  Philadelphia;  and  William 
E.  Dodge,  who  presided.  Congratulatory  tele- 
grams were  received  from  the  associations  at 
Brooklyn,  Baltimore,  and  Montreal,  and  from 
the  state  convention  then  assembled  at  Colum- 
bus, Ohio.     Letters  were  read  from  Secretary 

83 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

Fish,  ex-Governor  Seymour,  and  ex-Governor 
Buckingham  of  Connecticut. 

In  this  project,  New  York  began  the  modern 
association  building  movement.  There  were 
already  twelve  structures  owned  by  associations 
in  other  fields,  but  only  three  of  these  had  been 
erected  for  association  purposes.  At  Ryde, 
England,  in  1864,  an  association  building  was 
erected,  in  which  the  chief  idea  was  a  library, 
and  around  this  thought  the  whole  building  cen- 
tered. At  Chicago,  in  1866,  the  first  building 
in  the  United  States  built  especially  for  a  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  was  erected;  but 
this,  too,  was  specialized  in  its  purpose,  and 
consisted  chiefly  of  an  immense  evangelistic 
hall.  Its  leading  idea  was  a  place  for  religious 
gatherings  and  platform  effort.  In  fact,  the 
Chicago  and  New  York  buildings  stood  for  the 
two  ideals  of  association  effort,  which  at  this 
time  and  for  ten  years  later  struggled  for  a 
mastery  of  the  American  association  policy. 
The  one  stood  for  a  general  evangelistic  endeav- 
or for  all  classes  which  made  revival  meetings 
prominent,  the  other  for  the  specializing  of  the 
work  of  the  association  upon  young  men,  and 
the  providing  of  agencies  and  methods  particu- 
larly adapted  to  that  class.  McBurney  stood 
out  with  pugnacious  energy  as  the  champion  of 
this  specialized,  organized  work  for  young  men 
in  contrast  with  the  general  evangelistic  work 
for  all  classes,  which  found  expression  in  the 
evangelistic  hall  of  the  Chicago  association. 

The  third  specially  erected  association  build- 
ing was  in  the  Far  West,  in  the  city  of  San 
Francisco.     This  more   nearly  approached  the 

84 


Secretary  During  Building  Period 

all-round  idea  of  association  work  than  any- 
preceding  it.  It  was  dedicated  November  six- 
teenth, 1869,  two  weeks  before  the  dedication  of 
the  New  York  structure.  The  striking  feature 
about  this  building  was  that  it  contained  a 
gymnasium  as  well  as  provision  for  the  social, 
intellectual,  and  spiritual  needs  of  young  men. 
The  adoption  of  the  idea  of  including  a  gymna- 
sium in  the  association  building  occurred  in  San 
Francisco  long  after  it  had  been  proposed  by 
the  New  York  board,  and  it  was  only  because 
the  San  Francisco  building  was  a  smaller  enter- 
prise, which  took  less  time  to  complete  than  the 
half-million  dollar  New  York  structure,  that  it 
was  opened  earlier.  An  examination  of  the 
plans  of  the  San  Francisco  building  shows  that 
it  lacked  the  idea  of  unity  which  was  the 
distinctive  feature  of  the  New  York  edifice. 

This  feature,  which  made  the  plans  of  the 
New  York  association  building  the  model  for 
the  association  architecture  of  the  future,  was 
the  reception-room  or  lobby  into  which  every  one 
entering  the  building  must  come,  and  from 
which  various  exits  led  in  seven  directions  to 
the  different  departments  of  the  edifice.  In 
this  reception-room  was  the  public  office  of  the 
secretary.  Every  visitor  was  obliged  to  pass 
within  sight  of  his  desk  in  going  in  or  out  of  the 
building.  Near  the  desk  was  a  door  leading  into 
the  secretary's  private  office.  From  this  central 
room  one  stepped  by  one  doorway  into  the 
large,  well  lighted  reading-room;  by  another,  into 
the  pleasant  recreation-room,  where  checkers 
and  chess  and  other  games  were  provided;  by 
another,  into  the  tastefully  furnished  parlors;  by 

85 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

another,  into  the  lecture-room.  Near  the  door 
was  the  coat-room;  at  one  side  a  stairway  led 
down  to  the  gymnasium,  bath-rooms,  and  bowl- 
ing-alleys; another  stairway  led  up  to  the  library 
and  the  numerous  educational  class-rooms. 
Across  the  hall,  opposite  the  reception-room, 
was  a  large  auditorium,  which  would  accommo- 
date some  1,200  people.  This  was  the  only 
room  in  the  building  which  could  be  reached 
without  passing  by  the  secretary's  desk,  and  it 
was  so  arranged  in  order  that  it  might  be  rented 
for  public  gatherings,  and  yet  not  interfere  with 
the  routine  work  of  the  association.  Thus,  the 
secretary  at  his  desk  was  enabled  to  control  all 
the  activities  which  went  on  in  this  large  build- 
ing. This  central  room  was  McBurney's  chief 
contribution  to  the  association  building  move- 
ment. It  made  possible  the  grouping  of  the 
various  agencies  of  the  association — physical, 
social,  intellectual,  and  spiritual — under  one  roof 
and  under  one  control.  The  secretaryship,  it  has 
been  said,  was  created  by  McBurney.  The  New 
York  building  was  certainly,  in  its  design,  signifi- 
cant of  the  secretary's  central  place  in  the  asso- 
ciation. The  building  movement  and  the 
secretaryship  have  developed  together. 

Writing  of  this  building  in  a  letter  in  1894, 
McBurney  said:  "  The  Twenty-third  Street 
building  marked  the  most  important  epoch  in 
the  history  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation in  this  country.  Prior  to  that  time, 
associations  were  in  small  rooms  in  obscure 
parts  of  cities,  and  had  neither  the  confidence 
of  the  business  community  on  the  one  hand,  nor 
the  support  of  the  clergy  on  the  other.    .    .    . 

86 


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Secretary  During  Building  Period 

The  Twenty-third  Street  building,  opened  in 
1869,  was  the  first  building  representing  the 
modern  idea — the  American  idea — of  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  work.  In  England, 
where  the  association  was  founded,  the  methods 
were  spiritual,  and  to  an  exceedingly  limited 
extent,  educational;  but  Mr.  William  E.  Dodge 
recognized  that  if  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  was  to  accomplish  for  the  young 
men  of  America  what  they  needed,  the  whole 
man  must  be  included — physical,  mental,  and 
social,  as  well  as  spiritual.  As  a  result,  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  of  America, 
following  the  example  of  the  New  York  associa- 
tion, recognize,  as  no  other  band  of  associations 
in  the  world  recognize,  the  fourfold  character 
of  the  association  work." 

The  New  York  association  had  come  dis- 
tinctly to  recognize  its  position  of  leadership  in 
the  association  movement  at  large,  even  before 
it  entered  the  building  on  Twenty-third  Street. 
The  Albany  Convention,  of  1866,  had  located 
the  international  committee  for  three  years  in 
New  York  City.  In  the  report  for  1868,  Mr. 
Dodge  had  remarked:  "There  are  now  more 
than  500  associations  like  our  own  in  America. 
With  its  business  relations  to  the  country,  New 
York  is  looked  up  to  as  the  leader  in  this  good 
work  in  a  great  measure,  and  everything  done 
here  is  duplicated  in  many  other  places."  In 
the  new  building  an  office  was  appropriated  for 
the  secretary  of  the  international  committee, 
which  became  the  headquarters  for  that  work. 
President  Dodge  said:  "We  hope  to  render  our 
rooms  a   home  for  the  association  workers  of 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

all  parts  of  the  country."  The  period  which 
closed  with  December,  1869,  brought  the  build- 
ing, and  completed  the  establishment  of  the 
New  York  work. 

For  some  years  McBurney  had  leaned  tow- 
ards the  ministry  as  a  field  of  labor  for  his 
maturer  years.  While  the  association  building 
was  under  way,  he  remarked  to  a  friend  that  he 
had  some  thought,  although  then  nearly  thirty- 
three  years  of  age,  of  studying  for  pulpit  work. 
He  said:  "Very  soon  I  will  be  too  old  for  the 
secretaryship,  and  too  old  to  help  young  men, 
and  they  will  want  to  get  rid  of  me."  Through 
some  of  his  Methodist  friends,  he  was  offered 
the  secretaryship  of  one  of  the  church  boards 
having  headquarters  in  New  York.  But  after 
considering  these  various  lines  of  activity,  he 
was  led  by  the  solicitation  of  his  friends  in  the 
association  to  remain  as  secretary  in  the  build- 
ing which  he  had  done  so  much  to  establish. 

During  these  years  in  which  the  building 
project  was  being  carried  forward,  McBurney 
lived  at  the  home  of  Cephas  Brainerd  at  No. 
190  East  Nineteenth  Street.  Through  life  his 
relations  with  the  senior  member  of  the  board 
of  directors  were  intimate  and  mutually  influ- 
ential. Mr.  Brainerd's  companionship  was  im- 
portant in  arousing  McBurney's  intellectual  life. 
Speaking  of  this  period  in  McBurney's  career, 
Mr.  Brainerd  said :  "  He  grew  steadily  and 
rapidly  to  be  a  large  and  general  reader.  He 
was  not  systematic  in  this  ;  indeed,  he  would  be 
called  a  miscellaneous  reader — novels,  travels, 
polemics,  poetry,  and  especially  hymns.  Nor 
did   he  neglect  either  the  religious  or  secular 

88 


Secretary  During  Building  Period 

papers.  Not  only  did  he  read  consecutively, 
but  he  also  read  by  scraps.  He  could  save  a 
few  minutes  wherever  he  might  tarry  by  read- 
ing the  book  which  was  just  at  hand,  and  in  all 
he  was  attentive  to  what  he  was  doing." 

This  period  of  five  years,  from  1865  to  1870, 
during  which  the  New  York  building  was 
secured,  was  full  of  significance  for  McBurney. 
If  the  earlier  period  made  him  a  Christian 
worker,  it  was  this  period  which  made  him  a 
general  secretary.  In  the  hard  struggles  of  the 
building  campaign,  McBurney  grew  in  power 
and  leadership.  He  emerged  from  this  cam- 
paign mature,  tried,  masterful,  and  triumphant. 
He  had  felt  the  burden  of  responsibility,  and  at 
the  same  time  he  had  also  secured  the  confi- 
dence which  comes  with  success.  He  was  now 
near  the  end  of  his  thirty-third  year ;  he  had  a 
grasp,  as  hardly  any  other  man  had,  of  the  prob- 
lems and  needs  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  ;  he  was  in  a  position  to  give  his 
whole  time  and  energy  to  the  solution  of  those 
problems  ;  he  was  in  the  largest  city  of  the  New 
World,  in  the  best  equipped  building,  with  the 
most  active  and  best  organized  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  in  existence ;  he  had 
found  his  life  work,  and  he  devoted  himself  to 
it  henceforth  with  all  his  powers. 


89 


CHAPTER  VI 

McBURNEY  AS  SECRETARY  IN  THE  TWEN- 
TY-THIRD STREET  BUILDING,  1870-1887 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  FOURFOLD  WORK  — THE 
CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  VICE  — THE  MOODY  MEETINGS  — 
THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  BRANCHES 

For  seventeen  years  Robert  McBurney  was 
the  general  secretary  of  the  association  located 
in  the  building  on  the  corner  of  Twenty-third 
Street  and  Fourth  Avenue.  During  this  period 
two  great  features  characterized  the  New  York 
work: 

The  first  was  the  internal  development  of  a 
systematic,  large-minded,  forceful,  and  special- 
ized work  for  the  culture  of  Christian  young 
manhood,  along  the  comprehensive  lines  already 
conceived  for  the  entire  man — body,  mind,  and 
spirit. 

The  second  was  the  organization  of  branches 
in  different  parts  of  the  city,  and  for  different 
classes  of  young  men. 

There  were  also  two  important  general  en- 
terprises during  this  period  in  which  McBurney 
took  a  conspicuous  part:  one,  the  attack  upon 
the  sale  of  obscene  literature,  and  the  other 
the  great  evangelistic  campaign  in  New  York 
conducted  by  Dwight  L.  Moody. 

The  form  of  government  during  this  period 
was  similar  to  that  followed  in  London,  which 
may  be  spoken  of  as  a  parental  type.     The  chief 

90 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

authority  was  the  association  in  the  Twenty- 
third  Street  building,  under  the  direction  of 
one  board  of  directors.  The  directors  of  the 
central  association  not  only  conducted  its  affairs, 
but  exercised  a  supervision  over  the  other 
branches. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  contribution  of  this  pe- 
riod was  the  perfecting  of  the  all-round  work 
for  young  men.  The  New  York  association  was 
only  one  with  others  seeking  to  solve  this  prob- 
lem, but  in  this  it  bore  a  leading  part. 

To  appreciate  the  situation  at  the  beginning 
of  1870,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  build- 
ing then  in  hand,  and  the  complicated  work 
which  it  expressed,  was  a  novelty,  something 
distinctly  new  before  the  world,  and  new  to  the 
activities  of  the  church.  Upon  McBurney,  as 
the  personal  exponent  of  the  secretaryship,  de- 
volved the  task  of  giving  to  the  public  mind, 
always  slow  in  comprehending  innovation,  a  full 
consciousness  of  the  new  idea.  McBurney  did 
this  not  through  pamphlets  or  public  speeches 
but  through  executive  demonstration.  He  ex- 
pressed himself  institutionally.  How  much  of 
an  innovation  he  was  himself  is  suggested  by 
Mr.  W.  W.  Hoppin,  when  in  his  memorial  ad- 
dress, after  McBurney's  death,  he  said:  "I  re- 
member my  first  visit  to  the  rooms  years  ago  in 
the  absence  of  McBurney.  There  did  not  seem 
to  be  anything  to  them.  The  secretary  did  not 
know  what  it  was  to  be  a  secretary.  His  was  a 
service  of  perfunctory  duty  of  keeping  rooms 
open  and  pamphlets  on  hand.  But  McBurney 
found  out  what  young  men  needed."  He  showed 
a  vivid  appreciation  of  what  was  demanded  in  a 

91 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

work  to  draw  young  men.  He  competed  suc- 
cessfully for  their  interest  with  the  strong  com- 
mercial and  aggressive  agencies  for  evil.  He 
contended  always  for  all  the  attractiveness  for 
the  building  which  any  commercial  institution 
might  employ.  He  asked  for  entrance  lights  on 
the  streets,  for  pleasant  furnishings,  for  cheeri- 
ness  throughout;  he  even  went  on  his  own  per- 
sonal responsibility  when  necessary  beyond  the 
cautious  ideas  of  older  men.  The  international 
convention  had  some  years  previous  declared 
against  all  forms  of  amusement  in  the  associa- 
tion. McBurney,  deeming  it  important  to  have 
certain  games  placed  in  the  rooms,  and  doubtful 
of  the  action  of  the  board,  had  the  games  pro- 
vided, and  passed  upon  in  auditing  as  furniture. 
The  spirit  of  the  fourfold  work,  as  developed 
under  his  direction,  was  attractiveness  and  use- 
fulness. He  wished  to  gain  the  individual  for 
the  association,  and  then  help  him  in  some  use- 
ful way.  He  was  always  opposed  to  introducing 
billiards  and  games  of  chance  as  being  harmful 
in  their  associations,  and  likely  to  bring  young 
men  into  temptation;  but  he  was  the  most 
hearty  advocate  of  a  social,  fraternal  atmosphere 
in  the  association,  and  believed  that  this  should 
permeate  the  whole  life  of  the  institution. 

The  influence  of  the  New  York  association 
as  a  resort  is  illustrated  by  an  incident  recalled 
by  Miss  Jordan,  who  was  McBurney's  private 
secretary  during  the  latter  years  of  his  life. 
She  relates: 

"Until  the  year  1863  the  association  rooms 
were  always  closed  on  holidays,  but  on  Christ- 
mas of  that   year  Mr.   McBurney  was   feeling 

92 


McBUKNEV    IN   1870 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

very  sad  and  lonely  and  homesick.  Only  a 
short  time  before  he  had  heard  of  the  death  of 
his  father  in  Ireland,  and  on  this  home  day  the 
sense  of  his  great  loss  came  to  him  very  keenly. 
Most  of  us  are  selfish  even  in  our  grief,  but  his 
thought  was  that  perhaps  in  that  great  city  there 
was  some  other  fellow  who  was  sad  and  lonely, 
and  perhaps  he  might  drift  into  the  association 
rooms,  and  maybe  they  could  help  each  other, 
so  he  opened  the  rooms  as  usual.  Sure  enough 
there  did  appear  a  young  English  sailor  boy, 
whom  Mr.  McBurney  showed  around  the  rooms 
and  welcomed  in  the  cordial  way  that  so  many 
thousands  will  remember.  When  dinner-time 
came  they  dined  together,  and  the  young  fellow 
was  so  melted  that  he  just  opened  his  heart, 
told  Mr.  McBurney  what  a  wild,  wayward  son  he 
had  been,  and  showed  a  letter  from  his  father 
in  which  the  old  man  declared  he  could  stand 
no  more,  he  had  been  so  disgraced.  We  can 
imagine  the  talk  that  followed,  and  the  boy 
before  he  left  had  made  up  his  mind  to  lead  a 
different  life.  Every  day,  as  long  as  his  ship 
remained  in  port,  he  came  into  the  association 
rooms,  but  finally  the  ship  sailed,  and  Mr.  Mc- 
Burney never  saw  him  again. 

"Ten  years  later,  at  the  time  of  the  meeting 
of  the  evangelical  alliance,  among  the  many 
delegates  from  foreign  lands  were  two  English 
clergymen,  whom  Mr.  McBurney  started  to  show 
around  the  building.  On  learning  their  names, 
one  seemed  strangely  familiar  to  him,  and  he 
remembered  that  it  was  the  same  as  the  young 
English  sailor,  from  whom  he  had  received  no 
word  for  ten  years.     He  mentioned  the  fact,  and 

93 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

the  gentleman  bearing  the  same  name  seemed 
very  much  interested  and  asked  a  number  of 
questions,  finally  confessing  that  the  young  man 
was  his  son,  and  that  he  had  since  then  been 
lost  overboard  at  sea,  but,  he  added,  from  that 
day,  that  Christmas  day,  he  had  never  caused 
his  family  one  anxious  thought,  so  completely 
had  his  life  changed. 

"And  this  was  the  reason  the  New  York 
association  adopted  the  policy  of  having  its 
rooms  open  every  day  of  the  year. 

Miss  Jordan  also  relates  : 

"There  came  in  one  day  at  the  old  office  at 
forty  East  Twenty-third  Street  a  good-looking 
young  man,  whom,  for  a  wonder,  Mr.  McBurney 
could  not  recall,  but  it  was  not  surprising  when 
the  young  man  told  his  story,  something  like 
this.  He  said  that  a  number  of  years  before  he 
came  to  America  from  England,  and  though 
brought  up  in  a  Christian  home,  he,  like  many 
others,  commenced  to  drift  until  he  had  become 
perfectly  indifferent  to  any  claims  that  his 
Heavenly  Father  had  upon  him.  One  night, 
walking  listlessly  down  Twenty-third  Street,  he 
noticed  the  sign  of  the  association  at  Twenty- 
third  Street  and  Fourth  Avenue — it  was  before 
that  department  was  made  a  branch,  and  while 
Mr.  McBurney  was  still  secretary  there — and 
more  to  escape  the  inclemency  of  the  weather 
than  anything  else  walked  up  the  stairs  and  into 
the  reception-room.  He  was  surprised  at  the 
warmth  of  the  welcome  given  him  by  one  of  the 
assistants  who  met  him  at  the  door  and  then 
passed  Kim  on  to  Mr.  McBurney.  With  his 
usual   quickness  of  vision   Mr.  McBurney  soon 

94 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

found  what  the  young  man  needed  more  than 
anything  else,  and  it  was  not  many  minutes 
before  the  three — the  young  man,  Mr.  McBur- 
ney,  and  the  assistant — were  on  their  knees 
together  in  the  secretary's  room  off  the  recep- 
tion-room, and  the  young  man  went  forth  with 
new  purpose  in  life.  As  the  young  man  himself 
said,  as  nearly  as  I  can  remember  his  language, 
*  Mr.  McBurney,  I  went  out  of  that  room 
resolved  to  lead  a  Christian  life,  and  as  time 
went  on  I  felt  that  I  was  called  to  preach  the 
gospel  in  mission  lands,  so  I  took  a  course  in  a 
training  school  for  missionaries,  and  after  finish- 
ing that,  felt  that  my  usefulness  would  be  greatly 
enhanced  if  I  could  minister  to  the  bodies  of  my 
hearers  as  well  as  to  their  souls,  so  I  have  been 
through  a  medical  college,  am  now  under 
appointment  from  the  Methodist  board,  and 
next  week  sail  as  a  medical  missionary  to 
Corea.'  The  young  man  did  go  to  Corea,  and 
as  regularly  as  to  his  church  board  did  he  send 
monthly  accounts  of  his  work  to  Mr.  McBurney, 
the  last  report  having  come  only  a  few  days 
before  Mr.  McBurney  passed  away." 

It  was  his  ambition  that  the  association 
should  have  a  hearty,  attractive  atmosphere, 
which  he  believed  would  have  a  strong  influence 
over  young  men. 

The  gymnasium  was  first  thought  of  as  a 
means  of  attraction  for  drawing  young  men  into 
the  building,  though  its  importance  was  soon 
recognized  as  a  means  of  promoting  the  health 
and  physical  development  of  young  men,  and 
leading  to  purity  of  life.  The  introduction  of 
the  gymnasium  into  the  New  York  association 

95 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

led  to  the  development  of  this  as  a  department 
of  association  work  throughout  the  country. 
Gradually  McBurney  and  other  leaders  came  to 
recognize  that  city  life  did  not  furnish  the 
opportunities  for  bodily  exercise  and  physical 
development  for  which  young  men  formerly 
found  opportunity  in  the  open  air  and  upon  the 
farm.  Instead  of  developing  the  physique,  the 
city  with  its  indoor  life  and  excitement  tended 
to  develop  mental  and  nervous  activity.  The 
gymnasium,  by  developing  the  body,  performed 
an  important  ministration  to  young  men. 
Physical  directors  also  found  themselves  in 
position  to  deal  with  young  men  in- the  examin- 
ing room  in  an  effective  way  regarding  impurity 
of  life.  A  bowling  alley  and  abundant  bathing 
facilities  also  became  a  feature  of  this  depart- 
ment. 

Mr.  William  Wood  became  teacher  of  the 
classes  in  gymnastics,  which  for  a  time  were 
scheduled  with  the  classes  in  German,  French, 
bookkeeping,  and  writing.  Mr.  Wood  served  in 
this  capacity  throughout  this  period.  He  con- 
tributed largely  towards  the  development  of  the 
association's  physical  work  for  young  men. 

The  annual  report  for  1870,  which  appeared 
a  few  weeks  after  the  opening  of  the  gymna- 
sium, December  second,  1869,  speaks  of  the  gym- 
nasium and  bowling  alley  as  follows  :  "These 
have  proved  far  greater  attractions  to  young 
men  than  it  was  supposed  they  would,  although 
hopes  were  somewhat  sanguine  upon  this  point. 
The  classes  are  largely  attended,  indeed,  larger 
ones  could  hardly  be  accommodated.  Very 
many  members  of  the  association  are  also  to  be 

96 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

found  in  the  gymnasium  for  purposes  of  exer- 
cise who  are  not  connected  with  the  classes.  It 
has  been  thought  necessary,  in  order  to  secure 
a  rigid  observance  of  established  rules,  to  form 
a  sub-committee  whose  duty  shall  be  not  only  to 
see  that  all  rules  are  enforced,  but  to  do  all  in 
their  power  to  promote  the  usefulness  of  these 
agencies." 

Previous  to  the  erection  of  the  New  York 
building,  the  associations  throughout  the  coun- 
try had  provided  opportunities  for  the  intel- 
lectual development  of  young  men.  This  work 
was  now  to  assume  systematic  and  definite  shape 
through  the  evening  educational  classes.  Early 
in  1868,  a  class  in  French  had  been  opened,  free 
to  members  of  the  association.  With  the  open- 
ing of  the  new  building,  increased  opportunities 
were  offered  for  various  classes.  During  the 
early  months  of  1870,  instruction  was  given  in 
German,  French,  bookkeeping,  and  writing.  For 
the  development  of  this  work,  a  trust  fund  of 
$5,000  was  given  by  Mr.  James  Stokes,  Jr. 

The  growth  of  this  department,  however, 
was  slow,  for  in  January,  1874,  McBurney  says 
of  the  classes  :  "  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  insti- 
tution presents  a  better  corps  of  teachers,  more 
thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  the  purposes  it  is 
designed  to  accomplish,  and  yet  the  young  men 
of  the  association  do  not  avail  themselves  of  the 
advantages  presented  as  it  was  hoped  they 
would.  None  of  the  classes  is  fully  attended." 
But  with  the  year  1875  a  marked  improvement 
began.  In  the  report  covering  that  year  Mc- 
Burney says  :  "Classes  are  now  conducted  in 
German,  French,  Spanish,  bookkeeping,  writing, 

97 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

and  vocal  music.  The  attendance  at  the  classes 
has  been  much  larger  than  in  any  former  year. 
From  October  first  to  December  twentieth,  635 
students  were  enrolled.  The  largest  attend- 
ance was  430,  and  the  average  292." 

At  the  close  of  this  period,  in  1887,  this  work 
had  become  greatly  developed.  McBurney 
states  :  "At  four  points  forty-one  evening  edu- 
cational classes  in  fifteen  different  branches  of 
study  are  being  held.  Each  class  meets  from 
one  to  three  times  each  week  during  seven 
months  of  the  year.  The  number  of  students 
enrolled  in  these  forty-one  classes  is  1,679  dif- 
ferent young  men.  This  evening  college  of  the 
association  is  educating  these  young  men  for 
greater  usefulness  in  their  business  life.  Few, 
if  any,  American  universities  or  colleges  con- 
tain so  many  students." 

Ever  since  entering  the  association  in  1862, 
McBurney  had  had  a  deep  interest  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  library.  It  was  his  especial  pride. 
He  was  called  to  the  organization  as  its  libra- 
rian. This  department  during  most  of  the  asso* 
ciation's  history  was  under  the  supervision  of 
Mr.  Cephas  Brainerd.  It  also  owes  its  develop- 
ment largely  to  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Robert  Hoe. 
When  the  new  building  was  entered,  a  great 
impetus  was  given  to  this  feature  of  the  associa- 
tion. The  report  shows  that  at  this  time  there 
were  276  current  newspapers  and  magazines  on 
file  in  the  reading-room,  and  3,500  volumes  in 
the  library.  A  notable  addition  was  made  to 
the  library  in  1873  by  a  gift  of  $3,100  by  Wil- 
liam Niblo,  which  was  expended  in  creating  the 
Niblo    Collection.      Frequent    additions    were 

98 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

made  to  this  by  Mr.  Niblo  during  his  lifetime, 
and  at  his  death,  in  1879,  he  made  the  associa- 
tion library  his  residuary  legatee.  The  amount 
bequeathed  to  the  association  was  $147,409. 
The  development  of  the  library  and  the  even- 
ing classes  during  this  period  placed  the  New 
York  association  in  a  high  rank  among  the  edu- 
cational endeavors  of  the  city.  McBurney  was 
at  first  interested  in  the  library  chiefly  because 
it  was  an  attraction  to  young  men,  and  he  be- 
lieved that  good  books  would  be  useful  in  help- 
ing young  men  to  better  ways  of  thinking  and 
living.  The  growth  of  this  library,  however, 
under  the  supervision  of  a  committee  of  edu- 
cated men,  greatly  stimulated  McBurney's  in- 
terest in  books  and  reading.  Through  Mr. 
Reuben  B.  Poole,  the  librarian,  and  the  exam- 
ination of  the  books  as  they  were  purchased, 
McBurney  became  widely  acquainted  with  the 
various  branches  of  human  knowledge,  and  was 
led  to  read  and  study,  and  later  to  purchase 
books  for  himself. 

The  religious  work  undertaken  at  the  Twen- 
ty-third Street  building,  and  at  the  various 
branches  during  this  period,  was  of  a  threefold 
character,  religious  meetings  for  men,  classes 
in  Bible  study,  and  various  forms  of  personal 
work.  McBurney  believed  that  the  religious 
meetings  of  the  association  should  be  chiefly  of 
an  evangelistic  character,  and  he  rejoiced  greatly 
in  the  constant  stream  of  young  men  who 
came  to  these  meetings  at  the  association  build- 
ing. There  came  to  be  conducted,  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  a  most  tactfully  arranged  series 
of    services,    at    which    the    gospel    was    pre- 

99 


,     Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

sented  in   a  welcome  and  manly  way  to  young 
men. 

Writing,  in  1885,  to  a  prominent  clergyman 
in  St.  Louis  who  had  criticised  the  New  York 
association  as  being  chiefly  a  social  club,  Mc- 
Burney said  :  "  We  press  our  religious  work  in 
this  association  with  all  the  vigor  in  our  power, 
and  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  for  an  unconverted 
man  to  leave  one  of  our  meetings  without  a 
direct  effort  being  made  in  his  behalf.  At  all 
our  meetings  a  personal  invitation  is  given  to 
all  who  desire  to  find  Christ  as  a  personal 
Saviour,  to  signify  it  by  raising  the  hand.  But 
we  do  not  rest  there.  As  men  pass  out  of  our 
meetings,  if  we  do  not  know  them,  we  ask  them 
if  they  are  believers,  and  if  not,  we  endeavor  to 
detain  them  and  point  them  to  Christ.  I  am 
not  acquainted  with  a  religious  organization, 
mission,  or  church  in  this  city  or  in  any  other 
place  where  such  vigorous  spiritual  effort  is  put 
forth  to  win  men  to  Jesus  Christ.  We  have  the 
following  services  :  Sunday  morning  9:30  Bible 
class  for  beginners  in  the  Christian  life,  which  I 
always  lead — the  average  attendance  is  forty- 
five  ;  at  4  o'clock  a  medical  students'  prayer- 
meeting,  at  which  some  hopeful  conversions 
have  occurred,  and  from  which  eight  men  have 
gone  out  as  medical  foreign  missionaries — aver- 
age attendance  forty-four ;  at  5  o'clock  dur- 
ing six  months  of  the  year  we  have  a  Bible  class 
in  our  large  hall  with  an  average  attendance  of 
400  ;  during  the  summer  months  a  Bible  class 
for  young  men  exclusively  is  held  at  the  same 
hour  in  the  parlors,  with  an  average  attendance 
of  ninety-four  ;  at  6:30  p.  m.  we  hold  a  prayer- 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

meeting  for  young  men  in  the  parlors,  with  an 
average  attendance  of  ninety-three  ;  we  have 
devotional  meetings  for  young  men  on  Thursday 
and  Saturday  evenings  at  8  o'clock,  with  an  ave- 
rage attendance  of  fifty-seven  and  fifty-six  respec- 
tively ;  on  Tuesday  evening  our  training  class 
in  Bible  study  meets,  with  an  average  attend- 
ance of  twenty — the  number  of  attendants  is 
limited  ;  the  object  is  to  train  young  men  who 
attend  it  in  the  use  of  the  Word  of  God  with 
inquirers.  A  youths'  meeting  is  held  every  Fri- 
day, with  an  average  attendance  of  twenty-one. 
We  also  hold  a  prayer-meeting  in  our  parlors 
every  afternoon  at  four  o'clock,  excepting  Sun- 
day and  Saturday,  and  evening  prayers  in  the 
parlors  every  night  at  a  quarter  to  ten,  which 
we  call  family  worship.  Every  morning  of  the 
week,  except  Sunday,  the  employees  of  the  as- 
sociation meet  in  my  office  for  prayer  in  rela- 
tion to  our  work." 

After  speaking  of  the  special  efforts  of  the 
association  during  the  week  of  prayer  and  the 
work  of  the  branches,  McBurney  said:  "This 
work  is  not  mine,  but  the  Lord's,  and  the  in- 
crease has  been  from  him.  I  believe  no  more 
in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  being 
made  a  moral  club  than  you  do  in  your  church 
being  made  such  a  club.  I  have  given  up  my 
life  to  work  for  the  Lord  in  connection  with  this 
agency  as  you  have  given  up  yours  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry,  not  for  the  building  up  of  a  social 
club,  but  for  the  advancement  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Christ  among  young  men." 

The  Sunday  afternoon  Bible  class  was  later 
turned   into   a  gospel   meeting   for  men,  and  a 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

luncheon  for  workers  and  strangers  was  served 
at  6:30  o'clock  in  the  evening,  at  which  earnest 
testimonies  for  Christ  were  often  given  by  vis- 
itors or  invited  guests. 

A  warm  spiritual  life  was  generated  in  the 
New  York  association  under  such  leadership. 
McBurney  was  especially  tactful  as  a  personal 
worker,  and  was  a  master  in  leading  others  into 
this  service. 

Henry  Webster  was  one  of  the  notable  fig- 
ures of  these  years  of  McBurney's  history. 
Seeking  for  an  assistant  secretary,  who  was  a 
college  graduate,  and  socially  inclined,  McBur- 
ney learned  from  a  friend  that  Webster  would 
be  a  desirable  man.  He  was  persuaded  to  ac- 
cept this  position  in  1877.  Two  years  of  hard 
desk  work  at  the  Twenty-third  Street  rooms 
broke  down  his  health,  and  he  resigned  to  go 
into  business.  He  was  employed  by  a  New 
York  company  with  such  freedom  of  time  that 
he  was  enabled  to  devote  his  mornings  and 
evenings  to  winning  men.  For  eleven  years, 
until  his  death,  in  1891,  he  devoted  his  life  un- 
remittingly to  this  end,  chiefly  at  the  Twenty- 
third  Street  building.  His  whole  aim  and  study 
was  to  bring  himself  into  helpful  contact  with 
the  largest  number  of  young  men  and  lead  them 
into  the  Christian  life.  He  frequently  conduct- 
ed the  after-meetings  on  Sunday  afternoons, 
and  there  are  many  hundreds  of  young  men 
who  came  to  decisions  in  these  meetings  who 
were  led  into  the  Christian  life  by  Henry  Web- 
ster. He  was  a  type  of  a  considerable  group  of 
young  men  who  were  inspired  by  McBurney  to 
Christian  service. 

102 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

McBurney  was  constantly  finding  opportuni- 
ties to  have  personal  conversations  with  young 
men  regarding  their  spiritual  welfare,  and  he  fre- 
quently followed  these  conversations  up  with  per- 
sonal letters.  Here  is  a  letter  he  wrote  to  a  young 
man  whom  he  was  seeking  to  influence  :  "Jurv 
second,  1885.  Dear  Friend  :  I  am  free  to  say 
that  I  feel  an  interest  in  your  welfare,  and  believe 
that  you  have  within  you  the  making  of  a  good 
man,  if  you  are  careful.  You  ought  to  address 
yourself  to  the  learning  of  some  business,  and 
work  like  a  tiger  at  it — stick  to  it.  You  are  at 
just  the  age  where,  humanly  speaking,  you  have 
the  making  or  breaking  of  yourself  in  your  own 
hands.  They  talk  of  men  being  the  architects 
of  their  own  fortunes.  What  is  far  more  im- 
portant, we  are  the  architects  to  a  very  great 
extent  of  our  own  character,  and  after  all  char- 
acter is  everything  ;  fortune  without  it  is  value- 
less, for  if  a  man's  gains  are  ill-gotten,  the  en- 
joyment that  comes  from  them  is  full  of  gall  and 
bitterness.  If  you  are  going  to  make  a  success 
of  life  really,  you  cannot  do  it  without  God's 
help.  Everything  in  your  life  is  going  to  de- 
pend upon  the  relations  which  you  sustain  to 
our  blessed  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  If  you  trust  him, 
make  him  your  friend  by  giving  him  the  confi- 
dence of  your  heart,  studying  his  character  and 
imitating  his  example,  you  will  be  a  blessing  to 
yourself  and  to  everybody  with  whom  you  come 
in  contact.  But  if  you  attempt  to  build  up  char- 
acter without  his  help,  your  efforts  will  prove  a 
failure.  Begin  in  a  manly  way  by  recognizing 
your  relation  to  God,  the  author  of  your  being, 
and  to  his  Son,  who  is  God  manifest  in  the  flesh, 

103 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

and  all  will  be  well  for  this  life  and  for  the  life 
which  shall  have  no  end.  I  am  your  friend  and 
well  wisher." 

McBurney  always  showed  a  strong  sense  of 
the  importance  of  the  personal  element  in  or- 
ganization. He  appealed  for  an  aggressive 
individuality,  and  exhorted  men  to  assume  re- 
sponsibility. Shortly  after  entering  the  new 
building,  in  a  little  leaflet  called  "A  Model  As- 
sociation," he  said:  "Would  that  we  could 
truthfully  call  our  own  loved  association  such  in 
every  respect.  In  its  building,  with  all  its 
appliances  for  the  prosecution  of  its  work,  in 
organization  and  the  like,  we  believe  it  is  un- 
equaled.  In  its  influence  upon  sister  associa- 
tions, many  say  it  stands  unrivaled,  but  in  an 
all-absorbing  devotion  on  the  part  of  every  sin- 
gle member,  we  know  it  is  sadly  lacking.  Think 
of  the  results  if  every  one  of  our  active  members 
should  become,  through  God's  blessing,  a  model 
member.  You  should  study  to  speak  to  men 
with  all  the  winsomeness  of  manner  of  which 
you  may  be  possessed.  Men  are  as  responsible 
for  how  they  say  things  as  for  what  they  say. 
Let  us  remember  that  our  manner  often,  yes 
generally,  produces  a  deeper  impression  than 
the  words  we  utter,  especially  in  casual  inter- 
course with  others." 

Upon  the  covers  of  McBurney's  reports  is  a 
notice  which  shows  his  eagerness  to  help  young 
men:  "Young  men  in  trouble  and  desiring 
friendly  advice  on  any  question  are  cordially 
invited  to  call  on  the  secretary  at  his  office 
in  the  association  building,  or  address  him  by 
letter."     Even  as  the  cares  of  administration 

104 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

increased,  he  was  always  alert  to  help  men  per- 
sonally. 

But  while  McBurney  was  interested  in  evan- 
gelistic work,  he  came  to  believe  even  more 
deeply  in  the  teaching  of  the  Word  of  God  as 
the  chief  means  for  developing  spiritual  life, 
and  even  for  leading  unconverted  men  to  accept 
the  truth. 

In  1871,  during  a  visit  to  London,  McBurney 
became  acquainted  with  W.  E.  Shipton,  the 
secretary  of  the  parent  association,  and  wit- 
nessed his  method  of  conducting  a  conversa- 
tional evangelistic  Bible  class.  Later,  in  1874, 
when  Mr.  W.  Hind  Smith,  of  England,  visited 
America,  largely  as  a  result  of  the  impetus  given 
by  him  to  Bible  study,  McBurney  began  teach- 
ing the  Bible  in  earnest.  For  many  years  he 
conducted  one  of  the  large  Bible  classes  at  the 
Twenty-third  Street  association. 

He  was  particularly  successful  in  using  the 
Bible  class  as  a  means  of  bringing  to  uncon- 
verted young  men  a  sense  of  sin  and  their  need 
of  Christ.  Mr.  Brainerd  speaks  of  him  thus : 
'  Those  who  attended  his  Bible  classes  know 
how  well  he  was  prepared  to  meet  them.  He 
did  not  confine  his  study  to  what  I  may  call 
the  stock  or  common  expositions  of  the  Scrip- 
ture. He  compared  Scripture  with  Scripture, 
the  orthodox  view  with  the  view  of  the  extrem- 
ist on  the  one  side  or  the  other.  A  part  of  his 
study  was  the  geography  of  the  country,  the 
times  in  which  the  Scriptures  were  written,  and 
the  people  and  things  which  pertain  to  these 
times,  as  disclosed  by  modern  research.  Few 
men  even  in  the  clerical  profession  were  so  com- 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

pletely  in  possession  of  adequate  knowledge  for 
personal  profit,  or  for  the  instruction  of  others, 
as  was  Mr.  McBurney.  He  accepted  the  Scrip- 
tures as  the  Word  of  God,  but  with  no  blind  or 
unchallenging  faith,  for  all  assaults  upon  that 
Word  he  tested  and  weighed,  but  the  result  was 
still  an  unshaken  faith,  unwavering  confidence, 
and  unyielding  trust.  In  all,  through  all,  and 
over  all,  was  his  personal  faith  and  personal 
love  for  God,  for  his  Son,  and  belief  in  the 
power,  the  pervasive  and  constant  presence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  He  believed  in  prayer,  and  in 
answer  to  prayer,  and  he  knew  whereof  he 
believed.  He  was  constant  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  to  the  purpose  and  aim  of  his  life — 
the  advancement  of  the  cause  of  Christ  among 
young  men." 

We  turn  now  to  consider  two  enterprises  in 
which  McBurney  was  deeply  interested  during 
this  period  :  the  organization  of  the  society  for 
the  suppression  of  vice,  and  the  evangelistic 
campaign  by  Dwight  L.  Moody. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  surprise  and 
indignation  with  which  the  board  of  directors  of 
the  association  discovered,  as  early  as  1866,  the 
extent  to  which  the  obnoxious  traffic  in  obscene 
literature  was  being  carried  on  in  New  York 
city.  Through  the  efforts  of  the  association  in 
1868,  a  law  had  been  enacted  at  Albany  against 
this  traffic.  This  law,  however,  did  not  cover 
all  of  the  nefarious  business  as  then  organized 
and  systematically  carried  on.  A  few  convic- 
tions were  secured,  and  several  dealers  were 
driven  from  the  business,  but  in  187 1  the  traffic 
was  carried  on  more  openly  than  ever  before. 

106 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

The  association  resolved  to  prosecute  in  all  legal 
forms  a  class  of  offenders  so  closely  affecting 
young  men. 

About  this  time,  without  any  knowledge  of 
what  the  association  was  undertaking,  Mr.  An- 
thony Comstock,  who  was  then  a  commission 
salesman  in  a  large  dry-goods  establishment, 
had  his  attention  called  to  this  evil  by  the 
effects  he  saw  it  had  produced  upon  persons 
with  whom  he  was  acquainted.  In  1868  he 
prosecuted,  on  his  own  responsibility,  a  man  in 
Warren  Street,  who  was  convicted  in  the  courts. 
"  Early  in  1872,"  Mr.  Comstock  says  (statement 
by  Anthony  Comstock  made  October  twenty- 
ninth,  1900),  "  the  appalling  fact  was  revealed  to 
me  that  there  was  an  organized  business,  sys- 
tematically carried  on,  where  169  books  were 
openly  advertised  in  circulars,  and  in  connection 
with  them  there  was  also  advertised  pictures 
and  articles  for  immoral  purposes  of  the  worst 
description.  I  discovered  the  names  of  the  pub- 
lishers of  the  majority  of  these  books.  The  facts 
overwhelmed  me.  After  making  several  arrests, 
I  wrote  a  letter  of  appeal  to  Mr.  McBurney,  at  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  stating  some 
of  the  facts  which  I  had  discovered,  and  asking 
for  assistance.  I  was  then  a  green  country  boy. 
I  wrote  my  letter  in  pencil,  and  I  wrote,  I  sup- 
pose, so  hastily  that  Brother  McBurney  had 
hard  work  to  make  out  the  letter.  As  he  was  a 
busy  man,  he  returned  the  letter  to  me  to  be 
rewritten.  Then  he  said  he  would  bring  it  be- 
fore his  committee.  In  the  mean  time,  however, 
Mr.  Morris  K.  Jesup,  who  had  become  the  presi- 
dent of  the  association,  and  whom  I  had  never 

107 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

seen  up  to  that  time,  happened  to  see  this  letter 
on  Mr.  McBurney's  desk.  He  came  to  the  store 
where  I  worked  and  I  had  a  personal  interview 
with  him.  As  a  result  of  that  interview,  Mr. 
Jesup  invited  me  to  meet  Mr.  McBurney  and 
himself  at  his  home  on  Madison  Avenue.  At 
that  meeting  I  disclosed  the  facts  that  I  had  dis- 
covered. I  said  that  I  thought  if  I  had  a  little 
money  I  could  get  at  the  stock  of  the  publish- 
ers. As  I  had  been  put  to  some  considerable 
expense  both  of  time  and  money,  Mr.  Jesup 
directed  Mr.  McBurney  to  send  me  a  check  for 
$650,  which  I  received  the  following  day.  One 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  was  to  reimburse  me 
for  the  time  and  outlay  already  made,  and  $500 
to  be  employed  to  unearth  the  publishers,  and 
to  secure  if  possible  their  stock.  By  the  ex- 
penditure of  the  $450,  I  secured  nearly  $50,000 
worth  of  books,  stereotyped  plates  and  engrav- 
ings. The  other  $50  I  returned  to  Mr.  McBur- 
ney. 

This  resulted,  on  the  part  of  the  association, 
in  the  appointment  of  a  committee  for  the  sup- 
pression of  vice.  The  members  of  this  com- 
mittee were  Jacob  F.  Wyckoff,  William  F. 
Lee,  Cephas  Brainerd,  Charles  E.  Whitehead, 
Thatcher  M.  Adams,  William  H.  S.  Wood, 
Morris  K.  Jesup,  and  Robert  R.  McBurney. 
This  committee  determined  to  engage  in  a  still- 
hunt  campaign  against  this  iniquitous  business, 
and  secured  Anthony  Comstock  to  carry  it  on 
without  it  being  publicly  known  at  the  time  un- 
der whose  auspices  he  was  operating.  In  the 
prosecution  of  this  work,  the  committee  raised 
and  expended  $8,498.14. 

108 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

This  work  was  conducted  until  January,  1874, 
when  "  the  amount  of  time  and  labor  necessary 
for  its  prosecution,  and  its  manifest  importance, 
led  the  board  of  directors  to  draft  a  bill  for  the 
incorporation  of  a  society  to  be  especially 
charged  with  the  suppression  of  this  traffic. 
This  society  became  organized  under  the  name 
of  the  New  York  Society  for  the  Suppression 
of  Vice,  and  Anthony  Comstock  became  its  sec- 
retary." 

Not  only  was  McBurney  actively  sympathetic 
with  the  movement  just  described,  but  he  was 
deeply  interested  in  efforts  for  social  purity,  and 
it  was  out  of  his  championship  of  this  work  as 
a  department  of  association  activity,  that  he  en- 
countered one  of  the  keenest  disappointments 
of  his  life. 

Before  the  close  of  the  period  now  under  re- 
view, the  New  York  association  organized  a 
White  Cross  Society  among  its  members,  with 
Henry  Webster  as  chairman.  Speaking  of  this, 
McBurney,  in  1885,  said:  "A  corps  of  the  White 
Cross  Army  for  the  promotion  of  personal  purity 
among  young  men  was  formed  February  nine- 
teenth under  the  management  of  a  commitee  of 
the  association.  It  numbers  567.  Many  excel- 
lent results  have  been  secured.  We  wish  that 
every  young  man  in  this  city  might  feel,  as  many 
have  already  felt,  the  restraining  and  uplifting 
influence  of  this  work,  and  be  so  impressed  with 
its  importance  as  to  seek,  as  these  have  done, 
through  a  surrender  of  their  hearts  and  lives  to 
Christ,  that  help  without  which  they  cannot  at- 
tain unto  purity  of  heart  and  life.  Only  those 
who  are  brought   into  very  close  contact  with 

109 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

young  men  can  begin  to  appreciate  the  urgent 
need  of  special  effort  in  this  direction  by  a  spe- 
cial agency  such  as  our  association  has  wisely 
created."  Two  years  later  he  said:  'This 
special  work  of  the  White  Cross,  designed  to 
promote  personal  purity  among  young  men, 
which  our  association  was  the  first  to  undertake 
in  this  country,  has  made  rapid  progress  in  kin- 
dred associations.  Our  own  branch  numbers 
1,888  members." 

It  should  be  added  here  that  many  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  later  withdrew 
from  this  form  of  work,  because  they  felt  averse 
to  trusting  in  what  was  called  a  pledge.  It  was 
generally  held  that  the  work  of  the  association 
was  to  accomplish  the  fundamental  service  of 
leading  young  men  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  present- 
ing purity  of  life  as  part  of  the  life  of  loyal 
service  to  Him. 

In  the  meantime,  Dwight  L.  Moody,  who  had 
been  secretary  of  the  Chicago  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  and  who  had  built  the 
first  association  building  in  that  city,  had  en- 
tered upon  his  great  life  work  as  an  evangelist. 
He  had  gone  to  the  British  Isles  and  conducted 
his  famous  meetings  in  the  year  1875. 

Mr.  William  E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  was  again  presi- 
dent of  the  New  York  association.  While  in 
London  he  attended  the  Moody  meetings,  and 
became  so  deeply  impressed  with  the  practical 
results  growing  out  of  them,  that  under  date  of 
May  thirty-first  he  wrote  to  Morris  K.  Jesup, 
who  was  associated  with  him  on  the  board  of 
directors  of  the  association,  suggesting  the  call- 
ing of  a  meeting  of  the  New  York  clergymen  of 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

the  various  denominations  to  consider  the  ques- 
tion of  inviting  Moody  and  Sankey  to  hold  a 
series  of  evangelistic  meetings  in  New  York. 
Writing  of  this  later,  McBurney  says:  "On  June 
twenty-first,  in  answer  to  this  call,  two  hundred 
men,  mostly  clergymen,  met  and  unanimously 
invited  the  evangelists.  The  invitation  was 
accepted,  and  the  evangelists  labored  in  our  city 
from  February  seventh  to  April  nineteenth, 
1876.  The  large  hall  of  the  Hippodrome,  seat- 
ing six  thousand  people,  was  usually  filled  fif- 
teen minutes  after  the  doors  were  opened,  and 
generally  an  overflow  meeting  was  held  in  the 
smaller  hall,  seating  four  thousand  persons.  The 
vast  audiences  and  the  appeals  from  the  plat- 
form, which  figured  most  prominently  in  the 
press  reports,  were  simply  the  introduction  to 
the  work.  One  hour  and  a  quarter  was  usually 
occupied  in  preaching  each  day,  while  five  and 
one-half  hours  were  employed  by  Mr.  Moody  and 
Mr.  Sankey,  and  the  Christian  men  and  women 
assisting  them  in  direct  personal  labor  with  in- 
dividuals in  the  inquiry  room.  At  these  services 
hundreds  of  men  rarely  seen  in  places  of  worship 
crowded  the  galleries." 

McBurney  and  the  workers  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  took  a  most  active 
part  in  this  revival.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
working  force  of  the  association  labored  assidu- 
ously in  the  inquiry  rooms,  in  the  choir,  and  as 
ushers.  Not  only  in  its  origin,  but  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  campaign,  the  association  was  a  most 
important  factor.  It  threw  its  forces  without 
reserve  into  the  movement. 

With  regard  to  this  revival,  McBurney  said: 
in 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

"Hope  was  inspired  in  those  who  had  lost  cour- 
age; drunkards  were  reclaimed;  thieves  and 
gamblers  were  reformed;  men  living  in  degrad- 
ing sins  forsook  evil  ways,  and  women  fallen 
and  outcast  were  returned  to  their  families  and 
friends.  A  stronger  faith  in  God  and  in  his 
power  and  willingness  to  rescue  the  most  hope- 
less was  awakened.  A  manifest  revival  of  re- 
ligious thought  and  purpose  visited  the  commu- 
nity, and  an  impulse  was  given  to  every  good 
work. 

"Towards  the  close  of  the  services  a  conven- 
tion was  held  which  was  attended  by  over  two 
thousand  clergymen.  Many  of  these  upon  re- 
turning home  engaged  in  work  with  redoubled 
earnestness,  and  the  influence  of  the  awakening 
widely  extended  beyond  the  city." 

The  revival  not  only  brought  a  great  blessing 
to  the  membership  of  the  association,  but  re- 
sulted in  the  accomplishing  of  an  end  for  which 
McBurney  had  hoped  for  some  years.  The 
bonded  indebtedness  of  $150,000  left  on  the 
Twenty-third  Street  building  was  a  serious  draw- 
back to  the  work.  McBurney  had  frequently 
called  attention  to  it,  and  urged  that  it  be  re- 
moved. During  the  close  of  the  Moody  meet- 
ings a  desire  was  expressed  for  the  erection  of 
a  large  hall  below  Fourteenth  Street,  where 
union  evangelistic  services  could  be  held  every 
evening.  A  meeting  of  gentlemen,  who  had 
been  identified  with  the  Hippodrome  services, 
was  called  to  consider  this  subject,  among  them 
President  Dodge  of  the  association,  several 
members  of  the  board,  and  Mr.  Moody,  all  of 
whom  favored  the  proposition.     McBurney  re- 


In  the  Twenty -third  Street  Building 

ports  of  this  gathering:  "Some  of  the  older 
gentlemen  not  connected  with  our  work  took 
decided  ground  in  urging,  first,  the  payment  of 
the  mortgage  debt  on  the  association  building, 
and  then  the  enlargement  of  the  work  of  the 
Bowery  branch  by  the  erection  of  a  suitable 
edifice,  containing  a  hall  of  moderate  size  in 
which  gospel  meetings  could  be  held.  This  plan 
was  adopted,  and  Mr.  Moody  and  the  members 
of  the  board  of  directors  solicited  contributions. 
We  are  grateful  to  report  that  subscriptions 
amounting  to  $200,000  were  secured,  $150,000 
to  be  devoted  to  the  payment  of  the  mortgage 
debt,  and  $50,000  for  the  Bowery  branch."  This 
$50,000  was  expended  on  the  work  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Institute,  located  on  the  Bowery, 
and  carried  on  for  young  working-men.  This 
great  revival  freed  the  association  from  debt  and 
inspired  the  members  with  new  zeal  for  service. 

One  of  the  marked  features  of  the  New  York 
association's  development  during  this  entire 
period  was  the  growth  of  branches  in  various 
directions,  and  by  means  of  these  the  adaptation 
of  the  association  to  different  classes  of  young 
men.  Two  kinds  of  branches  were  established: 
the  one  for  the  general  class  of  young  men  en- 
gaged in  business  and  other  callings,  in  which 
the  work  was  similar  to  that  at  the  Twenty- 
third  Street  building;  the  second  for  railroad 
men,  who  formed  a  considerable  element  in  the 
population  of  New  York. 

Before  entering  the  Twenty-third  Street 
building,  on  April  second,  1866,  there  was  started 
the  Western  Branch,  which  was  succeeded  by 
the  Bowery  Branch,  in  May,  1872. 

113 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

In  February,  1868,  a  branch  was  established 
in  Harlem;  in  1872  a  branch  was  opened  on 
the  East  side  on  East  Eighty-sixth  Street;  in 
188 1  a  German  branch  was  organized,  and  three 
years  later  a  building  secured;  in  1885  the 
Young  Men's  Institute  was  opened  on  the 
Bowery  for  the  class  of  young  working-men 
who  could  not  be  attracted  by  the  general 
rescue  work  of  the  old  Bowery  Branch.  Ad- 
mission to  the  building  was  confined  to  mem- 
bers and  their  guests.  This  same  year,  the 
branch  at  East  Eighty-sixth  Street  secured  a 
property.  In  1885,  at  the  death  of  William  H. 
Vanderbilt,  the  association  received  a  legacy  of 
$100,000,  which  was  to  be  devoted  as  the  board 
should  see  fit  for  the  extension  of  association 
work  in  New  York  City.  This  was  applied  later 
towards  the  purchase  of  a  lot  for  the  West  Side 
Branch. 

The  most  striking  branch  development  dur- 
ing this  period  was  the  establishment  of  work 
among  railroad  men.  This  was  attended  with 
considerable  difficulty,  and  at  first  grew  slowly. 
The  influence  came  from  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where 
the  first  railroad  association  had  been  estab- 
lished in  1872.  In  the  fall  of  1875,  through  the 
agency  of  the  International  committee,  Mr.  Lang 
Sheaf  and  Mr.  Henry  Stager,  of  Cleveland,  came 
to  New  York,  and  with  the  indispensable  co- 
operation of  Mr.  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  succeeded 
on  the  twentieth  of  November  in  establishing  a 
branch  in  rooms  granted  by  the  railroad  com- 
pany. The  report  for  the  following  January 
says:  "Successful  effort  among  this  class  of 
men  is  surrounded  with  greater  difficulties  in 

114 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

New  York  than  in  any  other  prominent  railway- 
center." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Cornelius  Van- 
derbilt's  name  is  for  the  first  time  connected 
with  the  association  as  chairman  of  the  audit- 
ing committee  in  1875.  In  that  year  he  became 
a  member  of  the  board  of  directors,  and  soon 
chairman  of  the  finance  committee,  and  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  railroad  work,  and 
later  vice-president  of  the  association.  In  1883 
George  A.  Warburton  became  secretary  of  the 
railroad  branches  of  the  city,  and  this  depart- 
ment immediately  began  a  rapid  development. 
Much  of  its  success  was  due  to  Cornelius  Van- 
derbilt.  He  took  an  active  and  personal  inter- 
est in  the  affairs  of  the  association,  and  it  is 
largely  through  his  indorsement  of  this  work 
that  it  became  generally  accepted  by  the  rail- 
road systems  of  the  continent. 

A  personal  friendship  sprang  up  between  Mr. 
Vanderbilt  and  McBurney.  Mr.  Vanderbilt  sur- 
vived McBurney  but  a  few  months,  and  in  his 
published  will  Robert  R.  McBurney  was  be- 
queathed a  legacy  of  $10,000. 

In  1886  Mr.  Vanderbilt  announced  his  pur- 
pose to  erect,  at  his  own  expense,  on  land  be- 
longing to  the  Vanderbilt  railroad  interests  at 
the  corner  of  Madison  Avenue  and  Forty-fifth 
Street,  a  building  for  the  use  of  the  railroad 
branch.  At  the  time  of  its  completion,  it  was 
the  finest  building  devoted  to  this  purpose  in 
existence.  The  total  cost  of  the  structure,  as 
afterwards  enlarged,  was  $225,000. 

Speaking  of  the  railroad  work  at  this  time, 
McBurney  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  there 

"5 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

were  800,000  men  employed  upon  the  80,000 
miles  of  American  railways;  that  these  men 
were  largely  away  from  home,  often  engaged 
upon  the  Sabbath,  and  were  away  from  the 
ordinary  influences  of  the  church;  that  they 
formed  an  important  element  in  modern  society, 
and  needed  a  special  agency  to  lead  them  into 
the  Christian  life. 

McBurney  was  a  careful  student  of  the  con- 
stitution of  the  association  and  the  method  of 
administration  of  its  branches.  In  a  paper  en- 
titled "  The  Branch  and  the  Association — Their 
Relations,"  he  says:  "The  general  secretary 
of  the  association  should  have  general  care  of 
the  work  of  the  association,  whether  carried  on 
at  the  central  rooms  or  at  the  branches,  and  for 
these  reasons  I  believe  the  secretary  of  the 
branch  should  occupy  to  him  the  relation  of  as- 
sistant secretary But  while  he  is  gen- 
eral secretary  of  the  association,  he  must  not 
assume  the  position  of  master  of  the  branch. 
His  relations  should  be  so  unselfish  and  loving 
that  the  secretary  of  the  branch  will   accept  his 

suggestions  and  criticisms He  should 

be  careful  not  to  interfere  with  the  details  of 
the  work  of  the  secretary  of  the  branch,  and 
what  is  of  equal  importance,  he  should  be  care- 
ful not  to  take  to  himself  the  credit  of  the  work 
of  the  branch The  aim  of  the  gen- 
eral secretary  should  be  to  keep  himself  out  of 
sight,  and  to  commend  in  every  judicious  way 
the  branch  secretary  and  his  work.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  secretary  of  the  branch  should 
not  be  on  the  lookout  to  find  wherein  the  gen- 
eral secretary  has  slighted  him  or  his  work.    Be 

116 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

assured  if  the  spirit  of  strife  or  envy  enters  into 
the  heart  of  either  secretary,  the  spirit  of  the 
Lord  will  take  his  departure." 

When  the  Twenty-third  Street  building  was 
erected,  McBurney  was  very  anxious  to  occupy 
the  large  room,  with  a  smaller  room  opening 
from  it,  in  the  tower  of  the  building.  This  had 
been  intended,  as  the  light  came  in  from  all 
directions,  for  an  artists'  studio.  The  board  of 
directors  were  determined  that  he  should  not 
live  in  the  same  building  in  which  he  worked. 
One  who  knew  the  circumstances  well,  later 
said:  "The  directors  came  to  the  decision  when 
the  building  was  completed  that  McBurney 
could  not  have  a  room  in  it  at  any  price,  not  for 
love  or  money;  that  he  must,  for  the  sake  of 
his  own  health,  live  outside  of  the  building. 
They  said  he  would  consume  himself  with  work 
and  must  get  out  more."  Two  or  three  years 
went  by.  A  number  of  workers  in  the  associa- 
tion who  were  McBurney's  special  friends  rented 
rooms  on  the  floor  under  the  tower  room,  and 
McBurney's  desire  for  this  room  increased.  In 
1873  it  became  vacant.  Mr.  Dodge  and  Mr. 
Brainerd  were  away. 

Speaking  of  this  a  friend  said  later:  "At  a 
meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  during  the 
summer  McBurney  was  allowed  to  take  this 
room  at  a  rental  of  $100  a  year."  This  tower 
room  became  McBurney's  home.  The  larger 
room  was  his  parlor  and  the  smaller  room  his 
bedroom.  He  fitted  it  up  according  to  his  own 
tastes,  and  here  received  his  friends,  and  carried 
on  innumerable  confidential  conferences  with 
association  leaders  on  subjects  of  vital  moment 

117 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

to  the  work.  This  room  was  McBurney's  study; 
here  he  gathered  his  library;  here  he  prepared 
his  lessons  for  his  Bible  classes,  and  here  were 
the  deepest  scenes  of  his  prayer  life  alone  with 
God.  Often  in  the  still  hours  of  the  night  from 
this  tower  he  would  gaze  out  over  the  sleeping 
city  with  its  long  streets  and  miles  of  buildings 
tenanted  with  thousands  of  aspiring,  tempted, 
restless  young  men.  For  twenty-five  years  he 
occupied  this  tower  room  until  it  became  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  the  thoughts  of  his  fellow- 
secretaries  over  the  whole  country.  It  was  a 
well-kept  room,  consistent  with  the  strict  per- 
sonal neatness  of  the  man,  but  it  was  of  that 
easy  comfortableness  of  aspect  which  allowed 
orderliness  without  stiffness.  McBurney  was 
somewhat  of  a  collector  of  curios,  and  he  much 
fancied  antiques  when  in  the  form  of  bric-a-brac, 
furniture  or  pictures.  Antiquarian  shops  had  a 
peculiar  fascination  for  him,  and  he  was  fond  of 
collecting  old  prints.  These  tastes  were  shown 
in  the  furnishing  and  decoration  of  this  room. 

His  fondness  for  fishing  was  seen  in  his  li- 
brary which  had  256  volumes  on  sports  and 
angling.  It  contained  copies  from  eighty-one 
editions  of  Isaac  Walton. 

His  fondness  for  hymns  was  also  seen  in  a 
large  collection  on  hymnology.  He  frequently 
quoted  hymns  aloud.  One  of  his  special  favor- 
ites, which  by  his  request  was  sung  at  his  funeral, 
was: 

"Jesus  calls  us;  o'er  the  tumult 
Of  our  life's  wild,  restless  sea, 
Day  by  day  His  sweet  voice  soundeth, 
Saying,  'Christian,  follow  me!' 

118 


In  the  Twenty-third  Street  Building 

"Jesus  calls  us  from  the  worship 
Of  the  vain  world's  golden  store; 
From  each  idol  that  would  keep  us, 
Saying,  'Christian,  love  Me  more!' 

"In  our  joys  and  in  our  sorrows, 
Days  of  toil  and  hours  of  ease, 
Still  He  calls,  in  cares  and  pleasures, 
'That  we  love  Him  more  than  these!' 

"Jesus  calls  us:  by  Thy  mercies, 
Saviour,  make  us  hear  Thy  call, 
Give  our  hearts  to  Thine  obedience, 
Serve  and  love  Thee  best  of  all." 

This  hymn  breathed  the  aspiration  of  Mc- 
Burney's  life. 

On  March  thirty-first,  1887,  on  the  anniver- 
sary of  McBurney's  fiftieth  birthday,  as  a  recog- 
nition of  his  services  and  of  personal  regard,  a 
reception  was  tendered  him  by  his  New  York 
friends.  He  had  been  twenty-five  years  in  the 
service  of  the  New  York  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  When  the  question  of  a  gift  which 
would  be  most  appreciated  arose  in  the  minds 
of  his  friends,  it  was  decided  that  he  be  given  a 
sum  with  which  to  purchase  books  for  his  library, 
and  especially  its  Biblical  department.  Mr. 
William  E.  Dodge,  in  an  appropriate  address, 
presented  him  with  a  bag  filled  with  gold  eagles 
for  this  purpose. 

At  this  reception  Dr.  Howard  Crosby,  who 
had  known  McBurney  from  the  beginning,  com- 
menting upon  his  years  of  service,  said:  "  I 
know  of  no  pastor  of  any  church  in  this  city 
whose  ministry  has  been  so  useful  and  extended 
as  the  ministry  of  McBurney." 

These  years  as  secretary  in  the  Twenty-third 
119 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBumey 

Street  building,  and  of  the  growing  work 
throughout  New  York  city,  were  years  of  real 
achievement.  In  the  vigor  of  his  manhood,  Mc- 
Burney  was  demonstrating  to  the  world  the 
value  of  the  work  to  which  he  had  given  his 
life.  But  constant  application  to  this  work 
was  taxing  to  his  strength.  While  of  robust  phy- 
sique, he  was  already  a  sufferer  from  rheuma- 
tism, and  occasionally  had  attacks  of  gout  which 
increased  in  frequency  during  the  ten  remain- 
ing years  of  his  life.  Towards  the  close  of 
1891,  McBurney's  health  was  so  impaired  that 
when  his  friend  Elbert  B.  Monroe  pressed  upon 
him  the  acceptance  of  a  gift  of  $1,000  with  a 
view  to  a  trip  to  the  Holy  Land,  he  accepted  it. 
Early  in  the  following  year  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Richard  C.  Morse  and  Charles  K.  Ober,  Mc- 
Burney  set  out  on  a  tour  of  southern  Europe 
and  Palestine.  Two  closer  friends  than  McBur- 
ney  and  Mr.  Morse,  bound  together  by  life-long 
service  in  the  same  cause,  could  hardly  have  en- 
tered upon  a  more  enjoyable  vacation.  Mc- 
Burney  took  immense  interest  in  the  journey 
and  in  everything  he  saw,  an  interest  and  a 
profit  which  was  increased  by  his  long  attention 
to  Bible  study.  Mr.  Brainerd  said  of  him:  "He 
read  carefully  in  respect  to  his  various  journeys 
in  Europe  and  the  Holy  Land.  He  was  fully 
equipped  in  this  regard  to  make  his  travels  use- 
ful to  himself,  and  contributions  to  his  general 
stock  of  available  knowledge." 

Just  before  sailing  McBurney  wrote  a  char- 
acteristic letter  to  his  friend,  George  A.  Hall, 
who  was  also  absent  from  New  York,  on  ac- 
count of  overwork. 


In  the  Twenty -third  Street  Building 

February  3,  1892. 
Mv  Dear  George: 

An  old  cripple  writes  to  an  invalid,  greeting:  Since 
the  early  part  of  November  I  have  been  fighting  rheu- 
matic gout.  The  doctors  say  that  it  is  due  to  having 
been  run  down  physically.  I  am  tied  up  now  in  bed 
though  expecting  to  sail  for  Egypt  and  the  Holy  Land 
on  Saturday.  I  am  now  suffering  from  a  second  relapse. 
I  had  much  rather  be  with  you  than  to  go  to  Europe  for 
you  know  I  am  not  very  fond  of  the  water. 

I  expect,  old  chap,  you  are  lonely  down  there.  Dear 
George,  I  would  say  of  you  as  Mr.  Dodge  said  of  me  to-day 
to  Mr.  Orne,  "Is  there  nobody  that  could  keep  Mr.  Mc- 
Burney  quiet  ?"  We  both  have  so  much  steam  aboard 
that  we  consider  all  men  mortal  but  ourselves.  We  have 
got  to  face  the  fact  that  we  are  growing  old,  and  that  we 
have  worked  rather  injudiciously,  and  that  we  must  now 
to  the  end  of  our  days  suffer  the  consequences.  But  I 
have  learned  the  lesson  many  years  ago  that  no  man  is 
necessary  to  the  Lord's  work.  When  you  and  I  are  re- 
moved from  service,  they  will  find  men,  undoubtedly 
different  from  us,  in  some  respects  more  useful  and  in 
other  respects  not  sp  much  so,  still  the  work  will  go  on. 
Being  set  aside  is  not  pleasant  to  face.  I  have  the  im- 
pression that  when  the  time  comes  for  you  to  be  set 
aside,  you  will  bear  it  a  thousandfold  better  than  I.  Per- 
haps a  prolonged  rest  on  your  part  and  on  my  part  will 
be  the  means  of  giving  us  years  of  service.  Dear  George, 
we  are  in  a  loving  Father's  hand.  I  sometimes  fear  that 
I  do  not  think  as  much  as  I  ought  of  the  tender,  loving 
care  of  my  Father.  I  thank  Him  for  it  both  night  and 
morning  but  not  with  as  much  feeling  as  I  ought,  still 
He  is  so  near,  thank  His  name. 

Yes,  your  recovery  and  mine  must  of  necessity  be 
slow,  because  the  breaking  down  process  has  been  going 
on  for  many  years  unconsciously  to  ourselves,  and  in- 
deed, to  our  friends. 

The  anniversary  of  the  association  passed  off  delight- 
fully. Six  hundred  persons  were  turned  away  and  the 
side  aisles  of  the  hall  were  packed  with  people  who  stood 
during  the  two  hours.  The  attraction  was,  of  course, 
Mr.  Depew.      Mr.  Rainsford  also  spoke,  and  spoke  very 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

sensibly.  I  read  my  report  and  Mr.  Morse  says  I  read 
it  better  than  in  any  former  year,  and  I  think,  on  the 
whole,  it  presented  our  case  as  well  as  any  former  report. 

I  wish  I  could  go  to  the  state  convention  and  the 
Secretary's  Conference,  but  I  feel  somehow  that  I  am 
losing  hold  of  our  state  work.  Mr.  See,  as  you  know, 
has  succeeded  Mr.  McConaughy  on  the  state  committee, 
and  the  only  city  secretary  on  the  committee  is  Mr. 
Warburton.  I  know  that  I  should  not  have  written  you 
all  this  association  matter.  We  must  trust  other  men 
more.  We  cannot  expect  that  others'  interest  will  be 
quite  as  great  as  ours,  because  we  were  at  the  beginning 
of  the  association,  and  a  father  takes  more  interest  and 
has  more  affection  for  his  own  child  than  he  would  have 
in  any  other  person's  child,  though  he  may  have  a  very 
strong  affection  for  the  child  of  another. 

With  a  heart  full  of  love,  dear  George,  I  am,  as  ever, 

Yours, 
(Signed)         R.  R.  McBurney. 

This  journey  brought  McBurney  a  complete 
rest.  Shut  away  from  the  activities  which  had 
absorbed  his  thought,  he  was  free  to  enjoy  the 
scenes  and  recall  the  history  of  the  places  he 
visited.  The  record  he  has  left  of  his  impres- 
sions of  his  visit  to  Palestine  is  full  of  interest, 
and  upon  his  return  he  gave  several  addresses 
before  the  branches  of  the  New  York  City 
Association. 

While  passing  north  from  Jerusalem,  he 
wrote  as  follows: 

"Sunday  we  passed  pleasantly  near  Shiloh  a  quiet, 
restful  day.  Monday  we  tarried  en  route  at  the  impres- 
sive ruin  of  Shiloh,  where  the  ark  remained  so  long.  We 
took  our  lunch  at  Jacob's  well,  in  the  outskirts  of  the 
city  of  Sychar.  The  day  was  very  beautiful.  We  read 
together  that  wonderful  chapter  of  the  fourth  Gospel. 
The  same  fields — months  now  before  the  harvest — were 
before  us,  the  same  mounts  Gerizim  and  Ebal  rose  above 


In  the  Twenty -third  Street  Building 

us,  and  there  came  with  sight  and  sense  of  the  environ- 
ment, perception  and  realization  also  of  our  dear  Lord's 
contact  with  our  earth  and  our  human  nature  and  then 
with  ourselves  spiritually.  I  begin  to  understand  a  little 
how  perhaps  into  the  gospel  story  of  Him  may  be  woven 
for  me  by  these  journeyings  on  His  pathway  a  few  new 
threads  of  varying  hue  which  will  make  the  picture  more 
vivid  to  my  eye.  Perhaps  it  may  help  me  to  make  it 
more  vivid  to  others.  I  hope  it  may  be  so.  But  I  write 
to-day  as  one  feeling  his  way  and  at  the  very  beginning 
of  new  impressions,  the  value  of  which  it  may  not  be 
wise  now  to  scrutinize  and  estimate  too  closely." 


123 


CHAPTER  VII 

McBURNEY     AS    METROPOLITAN     SECRE- 
TARY OF  NEW  YORK,    1887-1898 

THE  METROPOLITAN  ORGANIZATION— WORK  FOR  STU- 
DENTS—SOME INTERNAL  DEVELOPMENTS— THE  WEST 
SIDE  BUILDING— THE  NEW  YORK  WORK  IN  1898 

The  proposal  of  that  radical  change  in  the 
constitution  of  the  New  York  association  which 
involved  the  creation  of  what  is  known  as  its 
present  metropolitan  organization,  originated 
with  Mr.  Elbert  B.  Monroe.  Mr.  Monroe  had 
been  a  member  of  the  association  since  1853, 
one  of  the  board  of  directors  since  1871,  and 
president  during  the  years  1 877-1 882.  After 
his  resignation  from  the  presidency  in  1882,  he 
continued  upon  the  board  of  directors,  and  in 
December,  1886,  again  accepted  the  presidency. 
He  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  fact  that  as 
the  branches  of  the  association  multiplied  the 
board  of  directors  was  overtaxed  by  being  made 
responsible  both  for  the  administration  of  the 
association  work  in  its  largest  building,  and  by 
the  supervising  care  of  all  the  other  branches 
and  buildings  in  the  city.  He  brought  the 
subject  to  the  attention  of  his  associates  and 
of  McBurney,  and  proposed  that  the  board  of 
directors  be  released  from  the  detailed  manage- 
ment of  the  work  in  the  Twenty-third  Street 
building,  and  be  responsible  thereafter  only  for 
the  general  oversight  and  control  of  the  asso- 

124 


Metropolitan  Secretary  of  New  York 

ciation  throughout  the  city.  Speaking  of  this, 
McBurney  said.  "The  board  of  directors  has 
wisely  kept  the  work  of  the  Twenty-third  Street 
building  entirely  under  their  own  care,  supervis- 
ing every  detail,  and  developing  the  work  to  an 
efficiency  and  usefulness  which  is  felt  not  only 
in  every  one  of  our  branches,  but  by  the  co- 
operating agencies  of  the  state  and  interna- 
tional committees,  and  even  in  other  lands.  But 
as  our  branches  have  multiplied,  and  in  connec- 
tion with  four  of  them,  the  care  of  buildings  and 
property  has  been  added  to  the  care  of  the  work 
itself,  the  labors  of  directors  became  so  very 
arduous  that  some  change  seemed  to  be  called 
for,  by  means  of  which  on  the  one  hand,  the 
board  of  directors  might  be  brought  into  equally 
close  relations  with  every  branch  and  building 
of  the  association,  and  on  the  other,  that  the 
details  of  ihe  work  in  the  Twenty-third  Street 
building  might  be  placed  under  the  care  of  a 
committee  of  management  similar  to  the  com- 
mittees charged  with  the  details  at  the  other 
branches." 

The  first  official  step  was  taken  by  the  board 
in  January,  1887,  when  Cornelius  Vanderbilt, 
Cephas  Brainerd,  Moses  Taylor  Pyne,  William 
S.  Sloane,  and  Elbert  B.  Monroe  were  appointed 
a  committee  to  consider  the  society's  organiza- 
tion and  recommend  desirable  changes. 

This  committee,  after  long  and  careful  de- 
liberation, recommended  the  present  plan  of 
the  metropolitan  organization,  by  which  the 
work  in  the  Twenty-third  Street  building  was 
made  a  branch  and  placed  on  the  same  footing 
with  other  branches,  and  the  board  of  directors, 

125 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

released  from  responsibility  for  this  work,  be- 
came separated  to  the  control  and  supervision 
equally  of  all  the  branches  of  the  one  general 
organization. 

The  headquarters  of  the  board  became  known 
as  the  general  office,  and  were  located  in  rented 
rooms  on  Twenty-third  Street  not  far  from  the 
central  building.  A  committee  of  management 
and  a  secretary  were  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Twenty-third  Street  building,  and  McBurney 
became  general  secretary  for  the  entire  multi- 
plied work  of  the  city,  devoting  himself  to  its 
supervision  and  extension.  This  left  each  branch 
to  develop  its  own  work  in  its  own  way  within 
proper  limits,  and  under  continuous  close  super- 
vision by  the  board  of  directors. 

The  date  at  which  this  step  was  carried  into 
effect  was  June,  1887.  Philadelphia  and  Chicago 
adopted  the  metropolitan  plan  of  organization 
in  1888.  The  following  table  illustrates  the 
branch  development  during  this  closing  period 
of  McBurney's  life: 

1887.  Railroad  branch  opened  in  round-house, 

West  Seventy-second  Street. 
Railroad     building,    Madison     Avenue, 
opened. 

1888.  Bowery  building  bought. 

Athletic  grounds  and  boat-house  leased. 
Harlem  building  completed. 

1889.  French  branch  opened. 

Student  work  organized  as  "The  Student 
Movement." 
1891.     Mott  Haven  railroad  rooms  opened. 
Washington  Heights  branch  opened. 
126 


Metropolitan  Secretary  of  New  Tork 

1892.  Washington  Heights  building  secured. 

1893.  Madison  Avenue  railroad  building  dou- 

bled in  size. 

1894.  Lexington  Avenue  student  building  pur- 

chased. 
1896.     West    Side     building     completed     and 
opened. 
East  Side  building  partially  erected. 

The  most  original  branch  development  of 
this  period  was  the  organization  of  a  work 
among  the  students  of  New  York  City.  This 
appealed  deeply  to  McBurney.  In  the  colleges 
and  professional  schools  of  the  metropolis  there 
were  some  fifteen  thousand  young  men,  most  of 
them  away  from  home,  with  slender  resources, 
striving  with  all  their  might  to  fit  themselves 
for  their  life  w6rk.  McBurney's  heart  yearned  to 
help  these  young  men,  and  no  enterprise  unless 
it  was  the  West  Side  building  appealed  to  him 
more  strongly  during  the  closing  years  of  his  life. 
In  a  considerable  number,  students  have  been 
members  of  the  New  York  association  since 
1863.  A  Medical  Students'  Union  had  been 
formed  in  1867,  which  four  years  later  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  Student  Bible  class  taught  at  the 
Twenty-third  Street  building.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  intercollegiate  movement  through- 
out the  country  had  reached  a  number  of  the 
New  York  institutions.  The  visit  of  Henry 
Drummond  in  1887,  and  the  account  of  his  work 
among  students  in  Scotland  increased  the  inter- 
est already  awakened.  In  1889  the  employment 
of  a  student  secretary  was  made  practicable  by 
McBurney's  devoting  part  of  his  own  salary  for 

127 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

this  purpose,  and  a  branch,  known  as  the  Stu- 
dent Movement,  was  organized.  A  home  for 
this  department  was  secured  in  a  dwelling-house 
at  No.  136  Lexington  Avenue,  and  in  August, 
1894,  a  four-story  dwelling-house,  No.  129  Lex- 
ington Avenue,  was  purchased  for  $23,750.  This 
is  known  as  the  Students'  Club,  and  was  opened 
as  headquarters  for  this  movement.  Student 
associations  were  formed  in  the  various  col- 
leges of  the  city,  and  these  were  combined  into 
the  New  York  Intercollegiate  Movement. 

The  departmental  growth  of  this  period  was 
marked  by  an  extension  of  the  physical  work  to 
outdoor  athletics,  by  the  organizing  of  the  even- 
ing class  work  into  a  department,  the  develop- 
ment of  a  group  of  economic  features  for  young 
men,  and  perhaps  more  significant  than  any  of 
these,  by  the  introduction  upon  a  considerable 
scale  of  work  for  boys. 

McBurney  had  through  a  period  of  years,  in 
his  annual  report  to  the  association  and  its 
friends,  urged  the  importance  of  athletic  grounds 
and  a  boat-house.  The  realization  of  this  project 
came  in  March,  1888,  through  the  purchase  of 
the  boat-house  and  athletic  equipment  of  the 
New  York  Athletic  Club,  at  One  Hundred  and 
Fiftieth  Street,  and  the  rental  of  its  grounds 
and  water  front. 

In  the  last  decade  of  the  century,  the  educa- 
tional work  grew  to  conspicuous  proportions. 
McBurney  set  out  to  constitute  this  work  into  a 
distinct  department.  This  may  be  said  to  have 
been  accomplished  by  the  employment  at  the 
Twenty-third  Street  branch  of  an  educational 
director  in  1895. 

128 


WEST  SIDE    BRANCH 


Metropolitan  Secretary  of  New  York 

With  that  year  also  appeared  the  business 
institute,  or  day  business  college,  which  was 
carried  on  by  the  association  in  the  rooms  used 
in  the  evening  for  the  educational  classes. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  the  Harlem 
branch  opened  an  evening  school  for  young  men 
in  the  mechanical  trades. 

McBurney  sought  continually  to  have  the 
educational  work  of  the  association  placed  upon 
the  same  basis  with  the  long-established  educa- 
tional institutions  of  the  country,  and  he  pleaded 
steadily  for  adequate  endowment.  In  the  re- 
port covciing  the  year  1895  ne  said:  "It  may 
be  well  to  note  that  not  more  that  eight  of  all 
the  colleges  and  universities  of  the  United 
States  have  a  larger  number  of  students  than 
attend  our  educational  classes.  Colleges  and 
universities  are  endowed  or  supported  by  state 
appropriations,  while  the  association  has  no  en- 
dowment for  its  large  educational  work.  Many 
of  the  young  men  receiving  instruction  in  our 
educational  classes  have  found  it  necessary  to 
begin  wage  earning  insufficiently  equipped  for 
their  life  work,  and  it  would  seem  that  no  ob- 
ject of  an  educational  character  could  be  more 
worthy  of  endowment  than  the  educational  work 
of  the  New  York  association." 

A  number  of  economic  features  were  gradu- 
ally connected  with  the  New  York  work.  Mc- 
Burney had  always  urged  that  the  association 
should  help  to  secure  employment  for  young 
men,  and  this  had  long  been  a  feature  of  the 
New  York  association  work.  About  1890  sav- 
ings funds  were  instituted  in  several  branches, 
and    bank    accounts    opened    to    the    credit    of 

129 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

depositors.  The  most  important  economic  de- 
velopment, however,  was  a  movement  toward 
furnishing  living  quarters  for  young  men  in  the 
association  buildings.  This  was  not  undertaken 
until  its  usefulness  had  been  demonstrated  else- 
where. It  is  a  movement  which  promises  much 
for  the  future.  McBurney  became  deeply  in- 
terested in  it,  especially  in  relation  to  providing 
rooms  for  students. 

In  the  ripened  years  of  his  experience,  Mc- 
Burney grasped  none  of  the  possibilities  of  the 
association  more  clearly  and  earnestly  than  he  did 
the  opportunity  for  work  among  boys.  He  saw 
that  the  association  must  get  hold  of  young  men 
before  they  reached  the  ages  of  seventeen  and 
eighteen  years,  and  while  they  are  particularly 
susceptible  to  ennobling  influences.  He  recog- 
nized the  need  of  separate  buildings  for  boys' 
work,  and  was  instrumental  in  making  the  first 
provision  to  meet  this  need.  The  West  Side 
building  stands  as  an  evidence  of  his  interest 
both  in  the  dormitory  movement  and  the  asso- 
ciation work  for  boys. 

The  closing  effort  of  McBurney's  career  as 
the  secretary  of  the  New  York  association  was 
devoted  to  the  erection  of  the  double  building 
for  the  West  Side  branch,  between  Eighth  and 
Ninth  avenues,  extending  through  from  Fifty- 
sixth  to  Fifty- seventh  streets,  with  entrances 
upon  both  streets.  This  building  is  recognized 
as  the  monument  of  McBurney's  matured  ex- 
perience and  thought.  It  is  practically  two  build- 
ings, the  one  on  Fifty-sixth  Street  being  devoted 
on  the  lower  floors  to  an  association  for  boys, 
and  on  the  upper  floors  to  the  library  and  dor- 

130 


Metropolitan  Secretary  of  New  York 

mitories,  the  building  on  Fifty-seventh  Street 
being  devoted  to  an  association  for  young  men. 
In  this  building  was  embodied  the  sum  of  associ- 
ation development  through  the  quarter  century 
of  swift  and  broad  progress,  whose  beginning  was 
marked  by  that  other  memorial  of  his  thought  and 
care,  the  association  building  on  Twenty-third 
Street.  What  a  span  of  association  history,  and 
what  a  wealth  of  development  in  work  for  young 
men!  What  a  life  of  wonderful  service  lies  be- 
tween these  two  historic  structures  —  the  one  the 
pioneer  in  the  building  movement,  the  other  the 
highest  consummation  of  the  association's  devel- 
opment during  the  life  of  its  great  leader. 

The  lots  for  this  structure  were  purchased 
in  1894,  at  a  cost  of  $165,000.  This  sum  was 
provided  by  the  legacy  already  noted  from  the 
will  of  William  H.  Vanderbilt  (with  $40,000 
accumulated  interest),  and  by  Cornelius  Van- 
derbilt, who  added  sufficient  to  make  the  pur- 
chase. Work  was  immediately  begun,  and  the 
building  was  finally  opened  near  the  close  of  1 896. 
But  the  development  of  this  project  had  begun 
long  before.  In  former  reports  McBurney  had 
emphasized  the  importance  of  a  building  for  the 
benefit  of  young  men  residing  on  the  west  side 
of  the  city,  and  back  of  this  public  appeal  there 
was  long-continued,  earnest  planning,  and  hard, 
faithful  effort.  The  project  was  marked  by  an 
audacity  which  made  even  McBurney's  close 
associates  hesitate.  The  entire  building  was 
planned  and  erected  before  any  association  was 
organized  to  occupy  it.  There  was  no  member- 
ship, no  managing  committee,  no  secretary  or 
physical  director,  although  the  enterprise  when 

131 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBumey 

completed,  including  land,  building,  and  furnish- 
ings involved  an  outlay  of  over  $555,000.  But 
McBurney  had  long  before  planned  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  organization  within  the  new 
building,  and  had  definitely  selected  and  trained 
not  only  a  man  to  be  its  secretary  but  the  com- 
mittee of  management  who  were  to  take  it  in 
charge.  Both  the  chairman  and  the  secretary 
of  the  young  men's  institute  branch  were  trans- 
ferred to  officer  the  new  association,  and  the 
committee  of  management  was  made  up  chiefly 
of  men  familiar  with  association  work. 

One  thing  that  impressed  McBurney  as  he 
studied  this  part  of  the  New  York  field  was  the 
large  student  body  near  at  hand.  These  men 
he  declared  should  have  living-rooms  in  the 
building,  and  the  third  and  fourth  floors  on  the 
Fifty-sixth  Street  side  were  accordingly  adapted 
to  this  end. 

It  was  decided  to  place  the  association  library 
in  this  building,  and  to  have  it  so  arranged  that 
young  men  in  all  the  branches  could  make  use 
of  it  or  draw  books  as  they  wished.  Accord- 
ingly, the  fifth  and  sixth  floors  on  the  Fifty-sixth 
Street  side  were  fitted  up  in  the  most  approved 
style  for  a  library. 

The  first  and  second  floors  on  this  side  were 
given  over  to  work  for  boys,  a  separate  gym- 
nasium complete  and  well  equipped  with  baths 
was  provided;  pleasant  social  rooms  with  games 
and  reading  matter,  rooms  for  Bible  classes  and 
religious  meetings,  quarters  for  manual  training 
and  Sloyd  work  were  provided,  and  a  secretary 
was  placed  in  charge  of  this  work.  The  con- 
ception of  this  department  was  that  it  was  to  be 

132 


Metropolitan  Secretary  of  New  Tork 

a  work  for  boys  by  boys.  It  was  the  best 
equipped  association  building  for  boys  at  that 
time  in  existence. 

In  this,  McBurney  aided  materially  in  awak- 
ening association  leaders  to  a  recognition  of 
the  importance  of  beginning  their  work  when 
the  boy  begins  to  become  a  man — at  the  dawn 
of  adolescence. 

The  building  opening  on  Fifty-seventh  Street 
was  arranged  for  the  general  purposes  of  the 
West  Side  branch.  In  the  basement  were  gym- 
nasium lockers,  bicycle  storage-room,  bowling 
alleys,  and  a  swimming-pool.  On  the  first  floor 
were  the  central  reception-room  and  office,  read- 
ing-room, parlor,  coat-room,  and  a  small  lecture- 
room;  on  the  second  floor,  the  board-room, 
class-rooms,  and  a  hall  having  666  seats.  The 
third,  fourth,  and  fifth  floors  were  given  to 
class-rooms,  a  camera  club-room,  and  a  restau- 
rant provided  for  the  convenience  of  the  young 
men  living  in  the  dormitory,  and  other  mem- 
bers of  the  association.  The  top  floor  was  de- 
voted to  the  gymnasium,  furnishing  one  of  the 
finest  gymnasium  floors  (53  by  102  feet)  to  be 
found  in  New  York  City.  A  number  of  eleva- 
tors furnished  quick  communication  between 
the  floors,  and  there  was  a  special  elevator  run- 
ning between  the  gymnasium  and  the  dressing- 
room  in  the  basement. 

This  building  in  its  conception,  its  original 
features,  its  varied  departments,  its  splendid 
adaptation  to  its  purposes,  and  in  its  perfection, 
is  a  complete  expression  of  McBurney.  Into  it 
he  builded  the  closing  years  of  his  life,  and  it 
was  a  fitting  tribute  to  his  memory  that  the  debt 

133 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

of  $77,000  remaining  upon  it  should  have  been 
raised  as  a  memorial  to  him,  and  a  bronze  bas- 
relief  of  himself  placed  as  the  gift  of  loving 
friends  upon  its  walls. 

The  field  and  work  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  of  New  York  City  in  1898 
as  compared  with  1862  presents  a  striking  con- 
trast. The  city  had  grown  marvellously  in 
wealth  and  population,  until  with  its  environs  it 
was  the  center  of  three  and  one-half  millions  of 
persons.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion had  grown  from  a  halting  experiment,  bur- 
dened with  debt,  with  a  few  faithful  members, 
and  a  secretary  who  also  acted  as  janitor,  occu- 
pying humble  rooms  in  a  second  story,  to  one  of 
the  most  vigorous  philanthropic  and  religious 
agencies  of  the  great  metropolis.  In  the  first 
year  of  McBurney's  official  connection  with  the 
society,  it  was  securing  with  great  difficulty 
$2,800  per  year  which  was  expended  in  carrying 
on  work  at  one  point  in  the  city.  In  1898  the 
association  reported  a  net  annual  budget  of 
$175,000,  expended  in  conducting  fifteen  differ- 
ent branches.  This  involved  the  raising  annually 
through  contributions  of  $60,000.  When  Mc- 
Burney entered  the  rooms  at  the  Bible  house, 
the  association  was  six  months  behind  in  its 
rent;  when  his  career  closed,  the  real  estate  and 
endowments  of  the  New  York  association  were 
valued  at  $2,000,000.  One  of  the  great  features 
of  McBurney's  work  had  been  the  development 
of  a  large  contributing  constituency. 

Mr.  Dodge  said  of  McBurney:  "When  he 
began  his  work  in  the  New  York  association  it 
was  very  small,  and  hardly  known  or  understood 

134 


Metropolitan  Secretary  of  New  Tork 

in  the  town.  It  was  a  new  work  then.  It  had 
scarcely  the  confidence  even  of  the  churches. 
It  was  wonderful  how  he  touched  and  influenced 
young  men;  and  yet  as  I  look  back  upon  it,  it  was 
more  wonderful  how  he  wen  the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  the  wealthy  men  of  the  city,  of  clergy- 
men of  all  denominations  and  all  faiths,  and  of 
good  men  who  loved  the  city  and  the  country." 

In  1898  work  was  being  carried  on  at  the  old 
building  on  Twenty-third  Street,  the  new  build- 
ing of  the  West  Side  branch,  the  Harlem  branch 
on  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Street,  the 
Washington  Heights  branch  on  One  Hundred 
and  Fifty-fifth  Street,  the  East  Side  branch  on 
Eighty-sixth  Street,  the  Students'  branch  on  Lex- 
ington Avenue,  the  Young  Men's  institute  on  the 
Bowery  near  Prince  Street,  the  Bowery  branch 
at  the  corner  of  Broome  Street,  the  German 
branch  on  Second  Avenue,  the  French  branch 
on  West  Twenty-first  Street,  and  the  Railroad 
branches  on  Madison  Avenue,  at  Melrose  Junc- 
tion on  West  Seventy -second  Street,  at  Wee- 
hawken,  and  at  New  Durham.  At  nine  of  these 
points  the  association  owned  buildings,  and  prac- 
tically owned  the  Madison  Avenue  Railroad 
branch,  where  the  building  was  held  by  special 
trustees  for  association  purposes. 

Even  more  remarkable  than  the  acquiring 
of  this  property  was  a  development  as  yet  but 
little  discussed  —  the  growth  of  the  employed 
force  of  the  association.  McBurney  had  rare 
knowledge  of  men.  He  not  only  associated  him- 
self in  the  boards  of  directors  with  leaders  in  the 
business  and  religious  life  of  New  York,  but  he 
was  successful   in   selecting  able   assistants   for 

135 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

the  detailed  work  of  the  great  enterprise  with 
which  he  was  charged.  In  looking  up  men  he 
was  very  careful.  In  one  of  his  letters  of  inquiry 
about  a  young  man  in  college,  he  asked  the  fol- 
lowing questions:  "Has  he  graduated?  Is  he 
a  gentleman?  Is  he  social?  I  understand  that 
he  is  very  successful  in  personal  work.  How 
is  he  in  Bible  study?  Has  he  administrative 
ability?  Is  he  good-looking?  How  tall  is  he? 
Get  everything  you  can  about  him,  and  tell  me 
if  he  is  the  man  for  us." 

McBurney  was  always  prompt  and  vigorous 
in  his  defense  of  the  associates  employed  with 
him  in  the  New  York  work.  At  one  time  when 
the  physical  directors  of  the  city  had  been  criti- 
cised, at  the  close  of  a  vigorous  letter  in  their 
behalf,  he  said:  "I  write  thus  in  defense  of  as 
noble  a  band  of  men  as  I  have  the  pleasure 
of  being  acquainted  with.  I  refer  to  the  thor- 
oughly trained  and  experienced  physical  direc- 
tors in  the  branches  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
association  of  the  city  of  New  York." 

The  employed  force  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian association  had  increased  in  thirty-six  years 
from  one  man  to  149  men,  giving  their  entire 
time  to  the  work  of  the  association.  This  was 
exclusive  of  sixty  teachers  who  worked  evenings 
in  the  educational  department.  There  was  also 
a  well-organized  army  of  1,092  active  members 
serving  on  committees  in  the  various  associa- 
tion branches.  Eight  of  the  branch  associations 
of  New  York  had  gymnasiums  in  charge  of  com- 
petent instructors,  and  classes  and  physical  ex- 
aminations were  conducted  for  3,024  association 
members.     There  were  three  swimming-pools 

136 


Metropolitan  Secretary  of  New  Tork 

in  different  buildings,  and  in  connection  with 
all  the  gymnasiums  were  to  be  found  bowling 
alleys  along  with  tub  and  shower  baths.  Athletic 
grounds  were  provided  for  the  use  of  the  mem- 
bers. Holiday  excursions  and  vacation  camps 
were  features  of  association  life.  A  boat-house 
was  moored  at  Barretto  Point  in  the  East  River, 
with  a  full  supply  of  boats.  Work  for  boys  was 
carried  on  at  five  of  the  branches,  with  libraries, 
literary  societies,  Bible  classes,  gymnasia,  and 
other  features. 

Educational  advantages  were  enjoyed  by 
nearly  two  thousand  young  men  enrolled  in 
seventy-three  classes.  In  these  thirty-five  differ- 
ent branches  of  study  were  taught.  In  the  asso- 
ciation libraries  there  were  70,303  volumes,  and 
in  the  reading-rooms  1,525  newspapers  and  mag- 
azines were  on  file. 

The  membership  had  grown  in  thirty-six  years 
from  151,  who  paid  an  annual  fee  of  $2.00, 
to  8,328  who  paid  fees  ranging  from  $2.00  to 
$15.00  annually.  The  average  daily  attendance 
of  young  men  in  the  reading  and  social  rooms 
was  5,670. 

Most  of  the  associations  had  literary  and  de- 
bating societies,  between  which  an  interesting 
rivalry  existed.  Socials,  talks,  and  lectures,  to  the 
number  of  866,  were  given  in  a  single  year. 

Visitation  of  the  sick  was  conducted  with  the 
same  regularity  as  in  the  early  days  when  the 
broader  advantages  were  not  enjoyed.  In  re- 
lief for  destitute  young  men,  through  the  Bowery 
branch,  the  amount  of  $4,100  was  directly  ex- 
pended; and  at  this  branch  34,709  lodgings, 
100,450  meals,   and    1,043  garments  were  sup- 

137 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

plied  in  a  single  year.  Through  the  employ- 
ment bureau,  in  1898,  situations  were  secured 
for  5,664  young  men.  Boarding-house  registers 
were  kept  at  the  different  branches,  and  in 
several,  restaurants  were  operated.  In  addition 
to  the  Bowery  branch,  which  had  lodgings  for 
100,  accommodations  for  a  fair  remuneration 
were  available  for  204  young  men. 

Bible  classes  and  other  religious  gatherings 
for  the  year  numbered  2,874,  an  average  of  nearly 
eight  per  day,  and  4,171  young  men  are  reported 
as  having  personally  sought  religious  counsel  in 
one  year. 

One  can  hardly  conceive  the  ceaseless,  daily 
activity  of  this  great  organization  which  had 
grown  up  within  the  term  of  one  general  secre- 
tary, and  which  was  so  largely  the  expression 
of  the  heart-life  of  his  determined  spirit. 


138 


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NEW  YORK  BRANCHES 


CHAPTER  VIII 

McBURNEY'S  VIEWS    ON    ASSOCIATION 
WORK 

In  noting  what  were  McBurney's  ideals  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  its  work, 
perhaps  the  most  complete  conception  may  be 
gained  from  the  narrative  already  given  of  his 
work  in  New  York  City.  As  previously  said,  he 
expressed  himself  institutionally.  In  the  course 
of  the  development  of  the  association,  since  its 
founding,  in  1844,  there  have  been  two  distinct 
types  of  work;  the  one  a  general  evangelistic 
work  usually  for  various  classes  in  the  commu- 
nity, and  the  other  a  specialized,  organized  work 
for  the  culture  of  Christian  manhood. 

McBurney  was  the  exponent  of  this  latter  type 
of  work,  and  led  it  to  complete  triumph.  It  should 
be  noted  that  he  did  not  originate  many  of  the 
ideas  which  he  held  regarding  the  association, 
but  his  common  sense  and  acumen  led  him  to 
seize  upon  those  principles  and  methods  which 
were  best  suited  to  win  young  men.  In  making 
an  analysis  of  his  views,  the  first  thing  to  be 
marked  is  his  idea  of  the  association's  object. 
That  object,  to  his  view,  was  the  young  man 
and  only  the  young  man.  He  antagonized  the 
conception  that  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation should  engage  in  Christian  effort  on  be- 
half of  society  at  large.  This  was  the  guiding 
principle  of  his  choice  of  methods  and  all  the 

139 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

subsidiary  features  of  the  work.  He  grasped 
intuitively  the  methods  which  would  reach  the 
specific  class  he  sought.  He  recognized  that 
the  association  was  seeking  the  young  men, 
not  the  young  men  the  association.  Its  aim 
was  not  to  admonish  but  to  attract  and  help. 
He  wanted  to  give  young  men  in  the  associa- 
tion what  they  might  seek  elsewhere  under  far 
different  influences.  It  was  his  habit  to  con- 
trast outlays  made  by  theaters  and  saloons  with 
outlays  for  attractions  and  means  of  recreation 
made  by  the  associations.  As  he  grew  older  in 
the  work,  his  recognition  of  the  power  of  social 
attractions  seemed  to  grow.  At  the  Connecticut 
State  convention  in  1867,  he  said:  "It  is  our 
business  to  exclude  amusements  from  the  rooms 
of  the  association;  Christ  did  not  use  the  amuse- 
ment plan." 

But  in  1890  he  wrote:  "It  would  be  difficult 
to  exaggerate  the  importance  of  the  social  ele- 
ment as  a  factor  in  winning  and  holding  young 
men  in  right  paths.  Much  has  been  done  by 
the  association  in  this  direction,  but  much  more 
should  be  done.  If  the  young  stranger  is  to  be 
helped  from  falling  into  bad  social  surround- 
ings by  the  association,  its  rooms  must  become 
a  center  of  magnetic  social  power.  While  the 
association  cannot  be  a  substitute  for  the  home, 
it  may  be  so  pervaded  by  the  spirit  which  makes 
home  the  happiest  spot  on  earth  that  the  young 
stranger  will  find  in  it  very  much  that  he  is 
deprived  of  elsewhere  in  his  city  life.  While 
young  men  loathe  patronage,  they  are  more 
open  than  any  other  class  to  hearty,  manly, 
cordial  courtesy." 

140 


McBurney 's  Views  on  Association  Work 

In  1885  McBurney  wrote  this  rather  enter- 
taining survey  of  the  institution:  "A  person 
unfamiliar  with  the  association  might  ask,  in 
passing  this  building,  'For  what  object  has  it 
been  erected?'  Some  of  ample  means  have  the 
impression  that  it  is  a  place  to  which  they  can 
send  destitute  men,  whom  they  would  like  to 
help,  provided  it  cost  them  nothing.  Others 
consider  it  an  organization  of  young  men  with- 
out much  physical  or  intellectual  force,  and 
easily  imposed  upon  by  any  shrewd  scoundrel 
who  comes  along.  The  hobby-rider  thinks  it 
is  exactly  the  kind  of  society  that  will  give  him 
an  opportunity  to  ride  his  hobby  before  the  pub- 
lic. The  unknown  singer  or  lecturer  desiring 
to  be  heard  by  a  New  York  audience  expects 
that,  on  the  plea  of  a  benefit  for  some  benevo- 
lent object,  the  hall  will  be  granted  free  of  ex- 
pense. These  four  classes  generally  go  away 
disappointed.  Another  class  of  persons  think 
we  hold  here  a  perpetual  prayer-meeting.  Others 
think  that  nothing  else  should  be  done  under 
this  roof  but  to  hold  religious  services.  Some 
think  we  are  a  bureau  of  information  on  every 
subject.  One  considers  that  the  association  is  only 
a  library,  another  that  it  is  exclusively  a  gymna- 
sium, another  calls  it  an  evening  college  or  a  club, 
or  an  employment  agency.  Others  think  it  a  place 
of  social  enjoyment  and  good-fellowship.  The 
fact  is,  it  is  a  little  of  all  these.  Even  the  goodyish 
young  man  may  be  found  here,  just  as  he  is  found 
in  nearly  every  social  gathering  and  in  every  line 
of  business.  But  also,  among  the  young  men 
composing  the  working  force  of  the  association, 
will  be  found  in  much  greater  number  those  who 

141 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBumey 

are  hard  in  muscle,  firm  in  will,  kind  in  heart, 
cheerful  in  spirit,  quick  in  wit,  and  earnest  in 
purpose.  The  association  was  inaugurated  by 
a  body  of  young  men  touched  by  the  spirit 
of  Jesus  Christ,  and  awakened  to  a  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility for  the  welfare  of  their  fellows.  It 
has  sought  to  illustrate  this  object  with  an 
increasing  effectiveness  year  by  year.  Its  mis- 
sion has  been  chiefly  to  young  men  of  ability 
and  intelligence  rather  above  the  average,  and 
it  has  done  a  work  mainly  of  prevention,  often 
of  rescue.  Many  thousand  places  stand  open 
day  and  evening,  inviting  young  men  to  the 
ruin  of  their  bodies  and  souls.  The  association 
seeks  to  offer  to  such  tempted  young  men  attract- 
ive but  wholesome  places  of  resort." 

McBurney  had  ever  in  mind  the  immensity 
of  the  task  before  the  association  compared 
with  what  it  was  able  to  accomplish,  and  he 
directly  and  without  hesitancy  expressed  the 
conviction  that  the  growth  of  the  organization 
was  and  would  be  proportionate  chiefly  to  the 
amount  of  the  means  placed  at  its  disposal.  In 
1894  ne  said:  "It  may  seem  to  some  who  read 
this  report  that  the  association  is  doing  a  large 
work.  We  admit  it,  but  there  are  in  New  York 
City,  according  to  the  last  census,  368,785  men 
between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-four — a 
larger  population  in  men  between  those  ages 
than  the  entire  population  of  any  one  of  eleven 
states  which  might  be  mentioned.  We  have  but 
touched  the  edge  of  the  work  which  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  should  be  putting 
forth  in  this  city  in  behalf  of  young  men  who 
are  surrounded  on  every  side  by  temptations  in 

142 


McBurney's  Views  on  Association  Work 

some  respects  more  attractive  and  more  debas- 
ing than  our  fathers  knew  anything  about.  The 
only  thing  that  hinders  us  in  making  larger 
advance  is  the  question  of  sufficient  funds  to  do 
so.  Many  persons  are  willing  to  give  money 
once,  but  in  order  to  carry  on  a  work  that  calls 
for  increased  expenditure  year  by  year,  steady 
contributions  are  necessary." 

No  one  appreciated  more  keenly  than  Mc- 
Burney  the  annual  burden  of  raising  funds, 
particularly  when  the  yearly  expenditure  had 
passed  the  $100,000  mark.  Every  recurrent 
cycle  of  business  depression  became  a  time 
of  crisis  for  the  association.  He  planned  wisely 
for  the  future.  He  saw  no  practicable  means  of 
escape  except  by  endowment,  and  he  empha- 
sized this  in  message  after  message  annually 
before  the  association  public.  The  Twenty-third 
Street  building  was  so  erected  that  the  ground 
floor  could  be  rented  for  stores,  and  thus  an 
income  secured.  A  large  revenue  was  received 
in  the  West  Side  building  from  the  rental  of 
dormitories.  He  believed  that  a  membership 
fee  should  be  charged  the  young  men  using  the 
privileges  of  the  association,  but  was  confident 
that  the  association  would  destroy  its  usefulness 
if  this  fee  were  increased  above  a  certain  point. 
He  said  on  one  occasion:  "The  association 
seeks  to  help  the  self-helping  class  of  young 
men  who,  during  the  early  years  of  their  busi- 
ness life,  receive  small  salaries,  and  pass  through 
privations  unknown  to  those  who  live  in  com- 
fortable homes  with  happy  surroundings.  If 
the  dues  were  increased  so  that  the  association 
would   be    self-supporting,   it  would    become   a 

M3 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBumey 

club,  and  those  who  most  need  its  sympathy  and 
help  would  be  shut  out,  and  the  advantages 
confined  to  young  men  of  ample  means  who 
need  them  least.  If  the  association  is  to  carry 
forward  its  work  without  serious  financial  diffi- 
culties, endowments  for  departments  should  be 
provided  by  the  generous  and  public-spirited  of 
this  community." 

In  his  conception  of  association  constitution 
and  government  McBurney  was  a  man  of 
statesmanlike  sagacity.  He  realized  thoroughly 
that  the  changing  membership  of  the  society 
could  not  be  entrusted  with  the  control  of  the 
valuable  properties  which  were  being  year  by 
year  accumulated.  As  he  grew  in  knowledge  of 
affairs,  he  came  to  recognize  the  importance  for 
efficiency  in  administration  of  a  centralized 
management.  Under  the  leadership  of  McBur- 
ney and  that  of  the  business  men  associated 
with  him,  from  the  time  of  the  trusteeship 
proposed  in  1866  to  the  perfection  of  the  metro- 
politan organization  in  1887,  this  centralization 
developed  more  and  more  fixedly.  By  the 
metropolitan  plan,  the  members  elected  a  por- 
tion of  the  general  board  of  directors  each  year. 
This  board  of  directors  chooses  its  own  president, 
and  this  president  appoints  the  managing  com- 
mittees of  the  various  branches.  The  changing 
membership  of  the  association  has  little  more 
control  of  its  affairs  than  has  the  changing 
student  body  the  control  of  a  great  university. 

Such  a  system  suited  McBurney's  idea  of  an 
efficient  scheme  of  government,  but  no  leader  in 
the  association  was  more  earnest  than  he  in 
representing  the  work  of  the  association  as  the 

144 


McBurnef  s  Views  on  Association  Work 

duty  of  the  membership.  He  believed  the 
association  was  a  lay  movement  to  be  carried 
on  by  volunteer  workers.  He  counted  success 
in  the  management  of  the  association  to  be  the 
extent  to  which  the  membership  was  made  truly 
and  responsibly  active  in  the  work  of  the 
organization.  He  considered  it  the  chief  busi- 
ness of  the  secretary  to  place  the  responsibilities 
of  the  active  work  upon  the  members,  and  to 
develop  others  in  Christian  work. 

In  1888  McBurney  wrote  a  list  of  what  he 
regarded  the  settled  principles  in  association 
work,  as  follows: 

1.  That  the  work  shall  be  for  young  men  only. 

2.  That  the  welfare  of  the  whole  man — body,  soul, 
and  spirit — should  be  promoted  by  the  energetic  develop- 
ment of  the  physical,  intellectual,  social,  and  spiritual 
departments  of  our  work. 

3.  That  points  of  doctrine  controverted  by  evan- 
gelical Christians  are  to  be  avoided,  and  the  simplicity 
of  the  Gospel  adhered  to,  chief  emphasis  being  laid  on 
well  and  freshly  devised  methods  of  pressing  the  accep- 
tance of  the  Gospel  upon  young  men. 

4.  That  the  best  active  members  are  not  only 
members  of  churches,  but  spiritually  minded,  Sabbath- 
observing  young  men,  who  are  and  live  in  close 
fellowship  with  the  Saviour. 

5.  That  the  churches  to  which  our  members  belong 
have  a  prior  claim  on  their  sympathy  and  labors. 

6.  That  money  for  our  work  outside  membership 
fees  is  best  obtained  by  solicitation  from  those  interested 
in  direct  work  for  young  men. 

7.  That  when  questions  of  moral  reform  become 
political  party  questions,  our  association,  as  such,  can 
have  no  connection  with  them. 

8.  That  associations  should  not  be  formed  in  towns 
of  five  thousand  inhabitants  and  over  unless  provision  is 
also  made  for  the  employment  of  a  general  secretary. 

9.  That   in   any  town  or  city,   however  large,  only 

i45 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

one  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  should  exist, 
and  the  field  should  be  covered  by  organizing  branches 
or  departments  of  the  association. 

All  these  principles  may  be  thoroughly  understood 
and  zealously  advocated,  but  we  need  to  remember  that 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  dead  orthodoxy,  even  in  associa- 
tion work  and  method.  Our  knowledge  must  be 
vitalized  and  sustained  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  we  must, 
as  workers,  be  living  in  close  communion  with  our  Lord, 
or  our  work  for  Him  will  be  without  fruit. 

On  questions  of  doctrine  McBurney  was 
intensely  practical.  He  held  strongly  to  the 
evangelical  view,  but  he  was  tolerant  towards 
the  opinions  of  others.  He  also  recognized  the 
restraints  regarding  the  expression  of  personal 
belief  which  the  holding  of  a  public  position  in 
a  religious  organization  entailed.  In  writing  to 
a  young  man  in  September,  1893,  who  was 
thinking  of  becoming  a  medical  missionary, 
McBurney  said:  "You  give  me  your  creed. 
Creeds  are  curious  things.  A  man  makes  a 
statement  in  a  creed,  and  then  you  have  to  ask 
him  what  he  means  by  it.  There  are  half  a 
dozen  questions  that  I  could  ask  you  about  the 
creed  you  express,  but  I  do  not  think  this  would 
be  profitable.  The  best  thing  for  you  and  for 
me  is  to  engage  in  earnest  Christian  work  for 
the  bodies  and  souls  of  men.  We  might  discuss 
creeds  till  doomsday,  and  I  do  not  think  any- 
body would  be  helped  by  it.  It  is  touching 
men's  hearts  and  lives  for  Christ  that  is  our 
business,  since  we  both  believe  that  we  have 
been  redeemed  by  his  precious  blood,  and  that 
to-day  he  is  our  advocate  before  the  throne. 
I  would  advise  you  to  stop  thinking  about  creeds 
if  you  can — I  know  it  is  difficult — and  come  into 

146 


McBurney's  Views  on  Association  IVork 

heart-touch  with  men — lost  men,  men  who  are 
astray,  and  when  you  come  to  make  effort  to 
lead  such  men  into  right  living,  you  will  be  more 
and  more  impressed  with  the  fact  that  only  by 
God's  spirit,  and  through  a  new  spirit  begotten 
in  them  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  are  they  to  be 
really  helped." 

A  He  was  not  afraid  to  trust  men  who  had 
struggled  over  theological  problems.  In  fact, 
he  felt  that  it  strengthened  a  man  to  have 
thought  out  these  questions  for  himself.  In 
writing  to  Mr.  John  Swift  in  Japan,  in  July,  1897, 
regarding  a  Japanese  Christian  of  prominence, 
he  said:  "You  can  rely  more  upon  a  man  who 
has  passed  through  phases  of  doubt,  provided  he 
comes  out  clear,  than  a  man  who  has  passed 
through  no  such  experience." 

During  the  latter  years  of  McBurney's  life, 
the  authority  of  the  Bible,  and  especially  the 
question  of  inspiration,  were  under  vigorous 
discussion  in  the  church.  He  followed  this  dis- 
cussion with  interest,  and  even  in  his  last  sickness 
read  Dr.  A.  C.  McGiffert's  History  of  Christian- 
ity in  the  Apostolic  Age.  He  always  held  firmly 
to  the  inspiration  and  authority  of  the  Scriptures, 
but  was  very  careful  to  discriminate  between  ad- 
vocating the  doctrine  of  inspiration  and  advoca- 
ting a  particular  method  of  inspiration.  In  writing 
to  a  worker  in  the  Salvation  Army,  he  stated 
his  own  position  very  clearly.  He  said:  "I  fully 
believe  the  declaration  of  our  Lord  when  he 
said,  'I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto 
me.'  We  may  lift  up  the  Bible,  we  may  lift  up 
many  things,  but  the  more  we  lift  up  Jesus 
Christ  to  the  gaze  of  men,  the  more  assuredly 

147 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

will  men  be  drawn  to  him.  You  must  not  infer 
from  this  that  I  have  any  doubts  in  relation  to 
the  divine  origin  of  the  Bible.  In  my  heart  of 
hearts  I  believe  that  what  we  call  the  Holy 
Scriptures  were  written  by  men  inspired  of  God, 
and  if  we  overthrow  the  Scriptures  we  overthrow 
our  knowledge  of  God's  dealings  with  men  in 
ancient  times,  and  we  overthrow  the  record  of 
the  life  and  work  of  Jesus  Christ." 

Regarding  the  position  of  the  association  on 
the  question  of  inspiration,  in  April,  of  1897,  ne 
wrote  to  a  leading  worker  in  the  association  as 
follows:  "  It  seems  to  me  that  the  position 
association  men  should  take,  so  far  as  the 
associations  are  concerned,  at  least,  is  that  we 
believe  in  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures;  but 
as  theories  of  inspiration  are  in  debate  by 
equally  devoted  orthodox  men,  it  is  very  unwise 
for  any  of  our  leaders  to  antagonize  verbal  in- 
spiration or  any  other  theory  of  inspiration.  If 
we  do,  we  will  assuredly  get  the  association  into 
hot  water." 

In  1894,  in  response  to  a  request  for  advice 
from  a  general  secretary  regarding  critical  Bible 
study,  he  wrote  as  follows:  "  Let  me  say,  in  all 
frankness,  that  I  think  in  the  present  condition 
of  Biblical  criticism,  and  the  discussion  which 
has  been  awakened  in  connection  with  it,  any 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  undertaking 
critical  Bible  study  at  this  time  would  make  a 
grave  mistake.  The  mission  of  the  association 
is  to  help  men  in  their  daily  life.  Critical  study 
of  the  Scriptures  will  not  help  them  in  this  con- 
nection; practical  study  will.  Critical  study 
must  be  left  to  other  agencies." 

148 


McBurney' s  Views  on  Association  Work 

One  of  the  vexed  questions  in  the  association 
has  been  the  publication  of  an  international 
organ.  It  has  been  difficult  to  get  adequate 
support  for  an  association  paper.  McBurney 
was  deeply  interested  in  this  undertaking,  and 
was  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Era  Company. 
He  regarded  the  Era  as  a  great  improvement 
upon  the  Watchman.  In  his  conception  of  an 
association  paper  he  differed  from  the  prevalent 
policy  and  from  most  of  his  brethren.  He 
believed  that  instead  of  being  an  exclusively 
association  organ  it  ought  to  be  a  paper  for 
young  men.  This  he  advocated  with  enthusiasm, 
but  his  opinion  in  this  matter  was  not  accepted 
by  the  associations  generally,  particularly  be- 
cause it  involved  such  a  large  financial  outlay  to 
carry  out  such  a  program.  In  writing  to  the 
editor  of  the  Young  Men's  Era  in  November, 
1892,  he  said:  "I  am  very  glad  that  you  are  seek- 
ing more  and  more  to  adapt  the  Era  to  the  tastes 
of  all  classes  of  young  men.  Formerly  it  was 
attractive  only  to  men  who  were  actually  engaged 
in  our  work.  Now,  it  seems  to  me,  there  is 
something  in  it  for  every  young  man,  and  I  am 
of  the  opinion  that  the  more  this  is  emphasized 
the  better.  My  very  great  regret  is  that  the 
company  has  not  sufficient  money  to  pay  for 
articles  by  leading  writers  on  topics  of  practical 
interest  to  young  men.  The  Era  occupies  a 
unique  field.  In  my  opinion,  if  enough  money 
were  put  into  it,  it  would  become  the  popular 
young  men's  paper — wholesome,  spiritual,  but 
thoroughly  manly  and  aggressive.  The  young 
men  of  the  land  need  just  such  a  paper.  . 
If  I  were  a  wealthy  man,  I  think  I  would  be  so 

149 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

selfish  as  to  purchase  all  the  unsold  stock  and 
put  other  money  into  it  besides." 

McBurney,  however,  recognized  the  difficulty 
of  handling  this  enterprise,  and  in  1896,  when  it 
was  proposed  to  bring  the  paper  to  New  York 
and  place  Mr.  George  Warburton  in  charge  of 
it  as  editor,  he  strongly  opposed  it.  When  Mr. 
Ober  became  editor  of  the  paper,  and  its  name 
was  changed  to  Association  Men,  McBurney 
still  advocated  the  same  view  that  it  should  be 
made  a  general  young  men's  paper.  In  Decem- 
ber of  1896,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Ober:  "Everybody 
that  I  have  come  in  contact  with  who  has  seen 
the  paper  says  it  is  a  decided  improvement  on 
anything  that  has  gone  before,  from  the  Watch- 
man down.  .  .  .  I  do  not  believe  that 'Men' 
ought  to  be  exclusively  an  association  paper,  for 
then  it  would  only  appeal  to  the  committee-men 
and  the  men  who  are  actively  connected  with 
the  work.  The  views  expressed  in  favor  of 
making  it  exclusively  a  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  paper,  if  adopted,  would  be  ruinous. 
There  is  room  for  a  young  men's  paper;  indeed, 
there  is  not  another  young  men's  paper  pub- 
lished in  this  country,  and  the  more  it  is  made 
a  young  men's  paper,  the  more  in  my  opinion 
will  it  be  successful,  the  Philadelphia  Conference 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding." 

McBurney  also  believed  that  an  association 
paper  should  avoid  controversy,  and  in  no  sense 
be  a  party  organ. 

In  politics,  McBurney  was  a  constant  and 
usually  an  enthusiastic  Republican.  He  was 
deeply  interested  in  civil  service  reform,  and 
took  some  part  in  promoting  it,  being  a  member 

150 


McBurney  s  Views  on  Association  Work 

of  the  Civil  Service  Reform  Association.  In 
1894,  in  writing  to  a  friend,  he  said:  "You  are 
quite  correct  in  saying  that  I  am  in  cordial 
sympathy  with  the  Civil  Service  Reform  Asso- 
ciation. In  the  political  life  of  our  country  I 
deem  it  to  be  the  most  important  question 
before  us;  indeed,  I  consider  it  vital  to  the 
purity  and  perpetuation  of  our  institutions." 
In  the  recent  campaign,  he  had  no  sympathy 
with  Mr.  Bryan  or  his  views.  In  writing  to  a 
friend  in  the  West,  in  January,  1897,  ne  said: 
"  Somebody  told  me  you  were  a  Bryan  man.  I 
do  not  know  who  it  was,  but  I  am  glad  that  you 
set  yourself  right  on  that  subject,  and  I  am 
particularly  glad  that  the  country  has  set  itself 
right.  Business  has  not  improved  very  much, 
but  I  think  things  would  have  been  much  worse 
if  Mr.  Bryan  had  been  elected.  What  do  you 
mean  by  saying  that  Bryan  represents  the  cause 
of  a  downtrodden,  long-suffering  people?  We 
are  a  suffering  people,  I  admit,  but  as  to  being 
downtrodden,  I  do  not  understand  that  state- 
ment. What  profit  would  there  be  in  doing 
anything  else  than  patiently  bearing  the  times 
through  which  we  are  passing?  It  is  very,  very 
difficult  to  understand  all  the  causes  which  have 
brought  about  the  present  condition  of  things, 
but  we  are  a  free  people,  and  I  really  do  not 
know  that  anybody  is  downtrodden  in  this  land. 
You  speak  of  the  Shylocks.  I  suppose  there  are 
some;  but  are  not  the  people  of  the  West  to 
blame  for  incurring  such  financial  obligations 
with  their  eyes  open?  Why  do  they  place 
themselves  in  the  hands  of  the  Shylocks?  Is 
not   their  difficulty  largely  due   to   their  over- 

151 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

haste  to  get  rich?  ...  I  do  not  consider 
such  people  downtrodden  at  all.  I  would  say 
that  they  were  unwise. 

"  As  to  the  price  of  farm  produce,  I  do  not 
not  see  how  that  could  be  altered.  We  cannot 
force  up  the  price  of  wheat;  if  there  is  over- 
cultivation,  of  course,  prices  would  be  low. 
Notwithstanding  all  the  drawbacks  in  our  land, 
it  is  the  Eden  of  the  earth  for  men  in  all 
conditions  of  life." 

As  a  writer  McBurney  was  an  example  of 
interesting  development.  This  was  shown  in 
the  successive  annual  reports  which  he  prepared 
for  twenty-six  years,  beginning  with  1871.  All 
these  messages  are  filled  with  a  devout  spirit  of 
thankfulness,  and  yet  are  pleasingly  free  from 
digressive  and  cumbersome  platitudes.  In  speak- 
ing of  them,  Dr.  Edward  Prime,  editor  of  the 
New  York  Observer,  said,  that  they  were  unri- 
valed by  those  presented  by  any  other  religious 
society  which  came  under  his  attention. 

It  was  hard  for  McBurney  to  write.  He  went 
at  it  with  much  ado,  and  in  the  preparation  of 
his  reports  made  all  within  the  official  circles  of 
the  organization  furnish  contributions  of  mate- 
rial. He  was  editor  of  the  New  York  Association 
Notes,  and  was  an  occasional  contributor  to  the 
religious  press.  He  was  the  author  of  several 
papers  on  association  topics  which  were  issued 
in  pamphlet  form.  He  also  wrote  an  important 
historical  sketch  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  which  went  through  several  editions 
His  articles  dealing  with  the  importance  of  young 
men's  prayer-meetings  and  Bible  study  in  the 
association    are  among  his   best  contributions. 

152 


McBurnefs  Views  on  Association  Work 

McBurney  prepared  a  Bible  study  course  on  the 
"Conversations  of  Jesus"  which  has  been  long 
and  widely  used.  This  was  selected  from  a 
series  of  lessons  which  he  gave  before  his 
classes  at  the  Twenty-third  Street  building.  It 
consisted  of  topics  with  references,  and  was 
adapted  for  evangelistic  Bible  teaching. 

During  his  forty  years  of  residence  in  New 
York,  McBurney  was  an  active  member  of  St. 
Paul's  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  served 
on  its  board  of  trustees  and  its  board  of  stew- 
ards. This  was  far  from  being  his  only  work 
outside  the  association.  His  advice  and  coun- 
sel was  sought  by  leaders  in  philanthropy,  by 
Protestant  ministers,  by  Catholic  priests,  and 
Jewish  rabbis.  From  1867  he  was  a  leading 
and  active  member  of  the  executive  committee 
of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  for  America.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders,  and  for  ten  years  a 
director  of  the  New  York  Christian  Home  for 
Intemperate  Men.  Other  managing  boards  of 
which  he  was  a  member  at  varying  times  were 
those  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  the  Young 
Women's  Christian  Association,  the  Federation 
of  Churches  and  Christian  Workers,  the  Clerical 
Mutual  Association,  the  New  York  Deaconess' 
Home  and  Training  School  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  and  the  Manhattan  Working  Girls' 
Club.  The  Charity  Organization  Society  and 
the  New  York  Sunday  School  Association 
acknowledged  obligations  to  him  for  special 
services.  In  his  later  years  he  was  a  valued 
member  of  the  New  York  grand  jury. 

McBurney  never  married.  His  closest  friends 
attributed  his  course  in  this  respect  to  a  Pauline 

153 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

devotion  to  his  work.  His  associates  were  im- 
pressed with  the  idea  that  this  singleness  of 
life  prompted  him  to  throw  himself  with  more 
consuming  energy  into  the  service  of  young  men, 
and  made  him  more  affectionately  attached  as 
with  true  fatherly  regard  for  those  who  came 
under  his  influence.  He  seldom  accepted  invi- 
tations to  social  affairs  outside  the  association, 
and  declined  membership  in  one  of  the  leading 
New  York  social  clubs  lest  it  should  divert  his 
efforts.  He  was  fully  alive  to  the  attractiveness 
of  such  pleasure,  but  he  made  all  his  decisions 
in  the  light  of  full  surrender  to  the  one  end  of 
his  life.  He  was  socially  agreeable,  a  charming 
companion,  sprightly  in  talk,  cheerful  in  dispo- 
sition, quick  to  appreciate  humor,  always  attract- 
ive to  young  men.  He  seldom  engaged  in 
story-telling.  He  never  used  slang.  He  was 
scrupulous,  even  fastidious.  McBurney  indulged 
himself  moderately  in  smoking  tobacco,  but  he 
was  careful  not  to  smoke  in  the  presence  of 
young  men  who  might  be  influenced  thereby. 
He  associated  with  many  who  thought  it  an 
improper  habit  for  a  Christian  worker,  but  he 
always  maintained  that  this  was  a  matter  which 
each  man  had  a  right  to  settle  for  himself.  For 
general  public  amusements  he  had  little  taste 
and  less  time. 

His  particular  recreation  was  fishing.  He 
was  an  ardent  lover  of  the  woods,  and  he 
belonged  to  a  group  of  prominent  gentlemen, 
including  several  clergymen,  who  at  times 
together  enjoyed  camping  and  its  varied 
pleasures.  The  Catskills,  the  Adirondacks,  and 
the  Pennsylvania  hills  were  the  goals  of  several 

i54 


McBumey's  Views  on  Association  Work 

brief  pilgrimages  for  rest  which  McBurney 
allowed  himself.  On  one  of  these  occasions  he 
nearly  lost  his  life.  While  fishing  in  a  boat,  it 
was  upset,  and  as  he  could  not  swim  he  came 
very  near  drowning,  but  was  saved  by  Oliver  C. 
Morse  coming  to  his  rescue.  He  was  one  of  a 
committee  of  fishermen  who  were  in  the  habit 
of  arranging  a  trout  dinner  in  the  early  winter, 
at  which,  after  a  bountiful  banquet,  the  chief 
toasts  were  fish  stories  and  other  adventures. 

McBurney's  career  as  general  secretary  of 
the  New  York  City  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  passed  through  a  series  of  interest- 
ing evolutions.  His  first  service  of  two  and  one- 
half  years,  from  the  summer  of  1862  to  the 
winter  of  1864,  was  an  experimental  period 
which  did  much  to  develop  him  as  a  Christian 
worker.  The  five  years  devoted  to  securing 
the  Twenty-third  Street  building  helped  to 
make  him  a  leader  among  men.  The  seventeen 
years,  from  1870  to  1887,  in  which  he  presided 
as  secretary  of  the  Twenty-third  Street  build- 
ing, and  supervised  the  gradually  growing  work 
throughout  the  city,  were  years  of  ceaseless 
devotion  and  continued  growth.  They  were 
marked  by  contact  with  intricate  religious 
problems,  and  a  close  study  of  methods  of  work 
and  the  needs  of  young  men.  These  years 
gave  McBurney  a  fulness  of  wisdom  which 
made  him  the  valued  counselor  of  his  associates 
and  of  leaders  in  various  lines  of  religious  work. 
The  closing  period  of  the  New  York  secretary- 
ship, during  which  he  was  metropolitan  secre- 
tary, were  years  of  ripe  experience  and  large 
influence.       During   these   years   his   wide    ac- 

155 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

quaintance  with  Christian  givers  in  New  York, 
and  the  leaders  of  religious  thought,  were  of 
great  value  to  the  association.  He  never  lost 
his  openness  of  mind  or  his  enthusiasm  for  new 
projects.  He  grew  symmetrically  until  the 
close,  and  was  active  in  the  advanced  move- 
ments of  the  association,  keenly  alive  to  their 
bearing  upon  the  whole  problem  of  extending 
Christ's  kingdom  among  young  men. 

McBurney  early  became  interested  in  the 
literature  of  religious  work  among  young  men. 
He  collected  publications  regarding  religious 
movements  among  young  people  prior  to  the 
organization  of  the  association.  He  possessed 
Woodward's  volume  on  the  religious  societies 
in  England  during  the  reign  of  Charles  the 
Second,  and  William,  and  Mary.  He  owned 
Cotton  Mather's  Essays  to  do  Good,  with  an 
account  of  the  early  young  men's  societies  in 
New  England  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
seventeenth  and  the  early  part  of  the  eigh- 
teenth centuries.  Among  his  books  was  a  life 
of  David  Nasmith,  with  an  account  of  the 
young  men's  societies  founded  by  him. 

During  these  years  of  his  New  York  service, 
he  wrought  out  and  exemplified  the  office  and 
work  of  the  general  secretary.  He  showed  the 
possibilities  and  the  greatness  of  this  service. 

If  his  life  had  only  been  devoted  to  work  for 
young  men  in  the  metropolis,  it  would  have 
been  a  great  career.  He  had  helpfully  touched 
the  lives  of  thousands  of  young  men,  and  had 
built  in  a  great  city  a  great  institution  which 
promises  to  be  a  permanent  blessing  to  mankind. 


156 


PART   II 
CHAPTER  I 

THE  LOCATION  OF  THE  INTERNATIONAL 
COMMITTEE  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY,  1865 
TO  1867 

We  have  studied  McBurney  as  the  general 
secretary  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations of  New  York  City.  We  pass  now  to 
consider  him  in  his  larger  relations  to  the 
movement  in  his  own  state,  in  America,  in 
Europe,  and  throughout  the  world.  His  en- 
trance upon  the  broader  stage  began  on  his 
return  to  the  secretaryship  in  1865,  and  con- 
tinued until  his  death.  He  appeared  at  the 
strategic  moment.  The  war  was  over,  an 
experimental  period  of  some  fourteen  years  had 
gone  by,  and  the  American  associations  were 
ready  for  leadership  into  their  distinctive  work 
and  mission.  The  movement  at  large  was 
unformed,  without  experience  or  prestige,  and 
without  resources.  It  was  natural  that  a  move- 
ment which  owed  its  existence  to  the  rise  of 
the  city  should  look  for  leadership  to  the 
largest  city  of  the  continent.  In  the  group  of 
men  who  gave  this  direction  McBurney  was 
among  the  foremost. 

Before  the  war,  New  York  had  refused  to 
lead  in  the  general  work  because  of  its  fear  of 

i57 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

distractions  over  the  slavery  question,  and 
because  it  was  not  yet  clear  what  was  to  be  the 
nature  and  power  of  the  central  organization. 
The  return  of  peace  banished  forever  the 
dividing  issue,  and  with  the  adoption  of  a 
central  authority,  with  emphasis  upon  its  ad- 
visory function,  all  fear  of  compulsion  from  it 
vanished.  The  New  York  City  Association  was 
ready  to  enter  heartily  into  a  national  organiza- 
tion. 

McBurney's  devotion  to  the  cause  as  a  whole, 
his  seniority  in  the  secretarial  field,  his  close 
relations  with  a  leading  group  of  association 
laymen,  the  location  at  an  early  date  of  the 
international  office  near  his  own  in  the  Twenty- 
third  Street  building  in  New  York  City,  his 
intimate  personal  friendship  with  the  chairman 
and  the  general  secretary  of  the  international 
committee,  and  above  all,  his  peculiar  force  of 
natural  leadership,  made  him  a  dominant  figure 
in  the  general  association  field.  The  three  con- 
spicuous leaders  in  New  York  of  the  inter- 
national work  were  Cephas  Brainerd,  chairman 
of  the  international  committee;  Richard  C. 
Morse,  its  general  secretary,  and  Robert  R. 
McBurney.  To  this  triumvirate  of  personal 
friends  is  largely  due  the  present  international 
work.  It  is  difficult  to  dissociate  the  service  of 
any  one  of  these  from  the  other  two.  Each  influ- 
enced the  others,  and  no  one  of  the  three  acted 
alone.  Writing,  in  1882,  after  Mr.  Brainerd 
had  been  twenty-five  years  chairman  of  the 
international  committee,  McBurney  said:  "In 
the  beginning,  and  when  it  was  unpopular,  he 
grasped  the  basal  idea  of  the  association — work 

158 


CEPHAS  BRAINEKI) 


The  Location  of  the  International  Committee 

by  young  men  for  young  men — and  he  has  clung 
to  it  tenaciously  throughout.  Every  report  of 
the  international  committee  to  the  conventions 
since  his  chairmanship  has  been  written  by  him. 
Until  1872  the  entire  correspondence  was  con- 
ducted by  him,  and  since  that  time  it  has 
been  under  his  careful  supervision.  The  secre- 
taries of  the  committee  have  prosecuted  their 
work  under  his  direction.  This  remarkable 
unsalaried  service  for  so  many  years  by  one 
thoroughly  qualified  leader  has  been  of  inval- 
uable benefit  to  the  work  for  Christ  among 
young  men  in  this  and  other  lands.  Mr. 
Brainerd  has  lived  to  see  his  correct  conception 
and  understanding  of  the  associations,  unpopular 
at  first,  gain  at  last  in  general  approval  and 
ascendency." 

McBurney's  first  service  to  the  general  work 
was  to  make  the  international  convention  a  real 
agency  for  furthering  the  specific  work  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  This  he 
did  by  welcoming  the  location  of  the  committee 
in  New  York,  and  by  systematizing  and  direct- 
ing the  conduct  of  the  conventions.  McBurney 
went  to  conventions  to  direct  them.  He  did 
direct  them.  He  kept  away  from  the  platform, 
usually  allowed  others  to  do  the  talking,  was 
not  much  in  public  view,  but  behind  the  scenes 
he  was  active,  vigilant,  and  in  his  element; 
indeed,  McBurney  exulted  in  a  convention — not 
in  the  mass  meetings,  the  speaking,  or  in  attend- 
ance on  sessions,  although  he  was  faithful  in 
that,  but  in  the  work  of  accomplishing  results — 
the  political  manipulation  and  leadership  of 
forces.     This   thrilled    him   and    brought   forth 

*59 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

his  utmost  energy.  Here  he  displayed  his  lead- 
ership and  comprehensive  grasp  of  association 
affairs.  It  was  in  conventions,  and  sometimes 
in  committee  meetings,  that  McBurney  displayed 
his  Irish  eloquence.  Not  a  ready  platform- 
speaker,  he  would  make  the  most  telling  pre- 
sentation when  once  stirred.  At  the  vital  mo- 
ment in  a  convention,  he  would  speak  from  the 
floor  with  great  energy,  sometimes  stamping  his 
feet  and  clenching  his  hands,  and  with  such 
enthusiasm  that  he  swept  down  all  opposition. 
He  belonged  to  the  type  of  orators  described 
by  John  Morley*  when  speaking  of  Cromwell, 
"as  impressive  by  their  laboring  sincerity,  by 
the  weight  of  their  topics,  and  by  that  which  is 
the  true  force  of  all  oratory  worth  talking  about, 
the  momentum  of  the  orator's  history,  person- 
ality, and  purpose." 

He  was  also  an  aggressive  factor  in  com- 
mittee meetings.  While  always  considerate  of 
others'  opinions,  and  willing  to  yield  in  what  he 
regarded  non-essentials,  he  was  tenacious  of 
what  he  regarded  the  right  view.  Indeed,  one 
of  his  friends  said  of  him,  if  a  committee  did 
not  do  as  McBurney  believed  it  ought,  "it  very 
soon  became  a  matter  of  conscience  with  him 
whether  he  would  remain  upon  the  committee." 
However,  another  of  his  friends  said  of  him: 
"  He  could  be  very  strenuous,  but  when  he 
came  down  to  the  bottom  he  was  always  willing 
to  recognize  that  other  people  had  the  right  to 
be  strenuous,  and  that  wisdom  was  not  wholly 
with  himself."  And  with  all  this  he  was  not 
dictatorial. 

*  Oliver  Cromwell,  p.  374. 

160 


The  Location  of  the  International  Committee 

His  first  connection  with  the  international 
work  was  at  the  Philadelphia  convention  in 
June,  1865.  McBurney  was  then  in  his  twenty- 
ninth  year.  With  the  six  others  from  New 
York  he  found  himself  at  Philadelphia  assem- 
bled with  over  two  hundred  delegates  from 
forty-seven  different  associations.  As  McBurney 
found  the  board  of  management  of  the  New 
York  association  a  training  school  for  prepara- 
tion for  local  work,  so  he  found  these  conven- 
tions, representing  different  sections  of  the 
continent,  attended  by  different  types  of  men 
with  varying  ideas  of  association  work,  an  insti- 
tution fitting  him  for  national  leadership.  He 
learned  rapidly  in  this  school.  He  perceived  at 
once  at  the  Philadelphia  convention  that,  with 
possibly  the  exception  of  Boston,  the  associa- 
tion of  which  he  was  the  executive  officer  was 
far  in  advance  of  the  others  represented.  He 
also  perceived  that  the  movement  at  large  had 
no  clear  conception  of  the  distinctive  mission  of 
the  association  to  young  men,  and  he  threw 
himself  with  all  his  energy  into  the  advocacy  of 
this  cause. 

Shortly  after  the  convention  had  been  called 
to  order  by  Hon.  Joseph  A.  Pond  of  Boston, 
the  minutes  stated  that  "  Mr.  R.  R.  McBurney  of 
New  York  moved  that  a  committee  of  one  from 
each  state,  district,  and  province  represented  be 
appointed  to  report  a  list  of  officers  for  perma- 
nent organization.  The  president  appointed 
McBurney  as  the  chairman  of  this  nominating 
committee.  Speaking  of  this  action,  McBurney 
said:  "As  soon  as  the  committee  went  into 
session  it  was  apparent  that  the  Philadelphia 

161 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

members  were  determined  to  elect  a  military 
officer  as  president.  I  took  ground  in  favor  of 
New  York,  as  New  York  had  never  had  the 
presidency.  The  committee  was  some  time  in 
reaching  a  conclusion,  but  finally  nominated 
Mr.  Cephas  Brainerd,  whose  name  I  had  sub- 
mitted." McBurney  strongly  favored  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  nominating  committee  of  one 
from  each  state  by  the  retiring  president,  as  he 
believed  it  promoted  political  methods  to  have 
the  members  of  this  committee  selected  by  the 
different  states,  and  it  is  probable  that  he  felt 
the  importance  of  keeping  as  far  as  possible  the 
control  of  this  committee  in  the  hands  of  the 
international  committee.  It  was  in  connection 
with  the  overthrow  of  this  system  that  McBur- 
ney met  one  of  the  severest  defeats  of  his  life. 

No  suitable  arrangements  had  been  made 
for  the  convention  by  the  committee  of  the 
preceding  year.  As  a  new  committee  was  ap- 
pointed each  year,  there  was  usually  little 
planning  in  advance.  No  topics  had  been  an- 
nounced for  discussion,  no  one  had  been  assigned 
to  read  papers.  The  convention  necessarily 
took  the  shape  of  a  religious  mass  meeting.  It 
seemed  to  have  no  clearly  defined  purpose. 
Men  were  present  with  various  projects  which 
they  sought  to  get  the  convention  to  indorse. 
One  man  wanted  the  convention  to  form  an 
American  Protestant  association  to  oppose 
Roman  Catholicism;  another  to  inaugurate  a 
movement  for  purifying  the  literature  sold  on 
railway  trains.  The  most  conspicuous  proposi- 
tion was  a  plan  proposed  "  for  the  purchase  of 
Ford's  Theater  and  the  erection  of  a  building  for 

162 


The  Location  of  the  International  Committee 

the  use  of  the  Washington  association,  at  a  cost 
of  $100,000."  It  was  very  plain  that  the  con- 
vention needed  some  guiding  mind. 

The  committee  on  arrangements  at  Phila- 
delphia, in  planning  to  entertain  the  convention, 
had  arranged  to  occupy  most  of  the  evenings. 
One  evening  was  devoted  to  the  welcome  meet- 
ing, the  next  to  the  rendering  of  the  oratorio 
of  the  Messiah,  the  third  to  the  anniversary  of 
the  Ladies'  Christian  Commission,  and  Satur- 
day afternoon  to  a  mass  meeting  of  the  Sunday 
schools  of  Philadelphia.  An  invitation  was 
accepted  for  the  convention  to  hold  its  Satur- 
day morning  session  at  Spring  Brook,  the 
country  residence  of  George  H.  Stuart.  The 
New  York  members  were  all  at  the  same  hotel, 
and  when  it  became  evident  that  the  convention 
was  not  to  discuss  the  work  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  they  determined  to  enter 
a  protest.  It  was  arranged  that  McBurney 
should  go  before  the  committee  on  associations 
and  urge  that  time  be  given  for  the  considera- 
tion of  work  for  young  men. 

This  resulted  in  a  very  important  change  in 
the  international  conventions.  Prior  to  this 
time,  "it  had  been  customary  to  refer  all  ques- 
tions presented  by  individual  members  to  com- 
mittees for  report,  instead  of  having  a  paper 
prepared  and  the  topic  discussed  in  the  con- 
vention." 

McBurney  submitted  a  list  of  topics,  to  the 
discussion  of  which  the  Saturday  evening  ses- 
sion of  the  convention  was  devoted. 

"  1.  The  best  method  of  bringing  young  men 
in  cities  under  the  influence  of  the  associations. 

163 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

"  2.  The  best  means  of  making  the  monthly 
meetings  of  the  associations  interesting  and 
profitable. 

"3.  Are  literary  classes  desirable,  and  if  so, 
how  should  they  be  conducted? 

"4.  How  shall  young  men  be  employed  and 
retained  in  associations? 

"5.  What  means  shall  be  employed  by  asso- 
ciations for  improving  the  social  condition  of 
young  men?" 

An  interesting  and  valuable  discussion  fol- 
lowed the  presentation  of  these  topics,  and  from 
this  time  dates  the  directing  of  the  convention 
program  to  a  definite  consideration  of  work  for 
young  men  by  young  men. 

The  invitations  for  the  eleventh  convention 
created  a  lively  scene.  The  struggle  was  be- 
tween Albany  and  Montreal.  In  urging  the 
cause  of  Montreal,  one  of  the  delegates  impru- 
dently remarked,  "  That  as  Montreal  was  neu- 
tral ground,  our  erring  brothers  from  the  South 
could  meet  us  there  without  loss  of  self-respect." 
The  Albany  delegates  took  prompt  advantage 
of  this  remark,  and  said,  "That  we  were  unwill- 
ing to  meet  our  Southern  brothers  on  neutral 
ground,  for  if  we  could  not  meet  them  under 
the  stars  and  stripes,  we  would  not  meet  them 
at  all."  This  carried  the  convention  to  Albany. 
The  reunion  between  the  Northern  and  the 
Southern  associations  really  did  not  take  place 
until  two  years  later  at  a  convention  held  in 
Montreal,  and  in  this  McBurney  had  an  im- 
portant share. 

In  speaking  of  the  Philadelphia  convention, 
McBurney,  some  years  later,  said:     "The   im- 

164 


The  Location  of  the  International  Committee 

pressions  of  the  Philadelphia  gathering  as  a 
convention  were  highly  unsatisfactory.  It  was 
more  useful  in  showing  how  a  convention  of 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  ought  not 
to  be  held  than  of  how  it  should  be  held. 
However,  it  brought  forth  some  excellent  fruit. 
The  opposition  to  evening  entertainments  at  a 
convention  produced  a  lasting  impression.  The 
effect  made  on  the  New  York  delegation  by  the 
knowledge  of  the  importance  of  bringing  the 
international  work  into  a  high  position  was 
another  excellent  feature." 

McBurney  went  home  from  his  first  interna- 
tional convention  determined  to  do  what  he 
could  for  the  work  at  large. 

During  the  war  many  of  the  associations 
had  disbanded,  but  they  now  began  to  increase 
rapidly  in  number  and  in  membership. 

The  Albany  convention  in  1866  was  in  many 
respects  one  of  the  most  important  ever  held. 
It  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  turning-point  in  the 
history  of  the  American  associations.  It  re- 
sulted in  the  location  of  the  international  com- 
mittee at  New  York  City.  McBurney  said  of  it : 
"The  reawakening  of  the  associations  to  work 
at  home  for  young  men  by  young  men  dates 
from  the  Albany  convention."  It  was  at  this 
gathering  that  McBurney  proposed  the  plan  of 
convention  procedure  which  has  become  char- 
acteristic of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tions. On  McBurney's  motion  the  Albany 
convention  created  a  committee  for  the  consid- 
eration of  the  international  committee's  report. 
The  office  of  this  body  was  to  take  the  report  of 
the  year's  work  presented  to  the  convention  at 

165 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

the  beginning  of  the  session,  digest  it,  and  make 
recommendations  based  upon  it.  This  line  of 
procedure,  running  through  the  meeting  from 
beginning  to  end,  has  since  been  characteristic 
of  the  international  and  state  association  gath- 
erings. It  constitutes  the  framework  of  the 
deliberative  work  of  these  bodies.  Mr.  Morse 
has  called  it  "the  backbone  of  the  convention." 
This  committee  has  always  shared  with  the 
committee  on  organization  the  chief  importance 
and  determinative  influence  in  the  conventions. 

At  this  convention  the  committee  of  which 
McBurney  was  chairman  suggested  the  estab- 
lishment of  state  conventions.  While  it  had 
been  recommended  previously  that  local  con- 
ventions be  held,  this  was  the  origin  of  what  is 
now  known  as  state  work. 

McBurney  introduced  a  resolution  at  this 
convention  calling  upon  the  associations  and 
evangelical  ministers  of  the  world  to  observe  a 
Sunday  in  November  every  year  as  a  day  of 
prayer  for  the  increase  and  spiritual  prosperity 
of  the  associations  everywhere.  This  day 
became  generally  adopted  by  the  associations 
in  all  lands.  In  the  next  convention,  on  a 
resolution  by  McBurney,  it  was  resolved  that 
an  entire  week  in  November  be  given  to  special 
prayer  and  efforts  by  the  association  for  young 
men. 

McBurney  was  again  at  Albany  a  member  of 
the  committee  on  nominations,  and  proved  to  be 
the  important  member.  "  Before  the  with- 
drawal of  the  committee  for  consultation,"  he 
relates,  "  I  asked  Mr.  Brainerd  who  would  make 
a  good  president.     He  said  that  H.  Thane  Mil- 

166 


H.   THANE   MILLER 


The  Location  of  the  International  Committee 

ler  of  Cincinnati  was  present,  and  that  he  was 
a  good  presiding  officer.  It  was  some  time 
before  the  committee  agreed  to  the  nomination 
of  Mr.  Miller,  but  I  pressed  his  name  with 
pertinacity.  I  also  presented  the  name  of  Mr. 
Miller  to  the  convention  and  he  was  elected." 
H.  Thane  Miller  attained  a  remarkable  reputa- 
tion as  a  presiding  officer.  He  was  tactful,  and 
especially  apt  in  harmonizing  divergent  inter- 
ests. He  would  quiet  controversy  by  calling 
for  prayer,  or  for  the  singing  of  some  pacifying 
hymn,  in  the  heat  of  a  discussion.  Between 
McBurney  and  Mr.  Miller  a  great  intimacy  and 
deep  friendship  arose  which  lasted  throughout 
Mr.  Miller's  life.  They  addressed  each  other 
in  terms  of  affectionate  familiarity.  Mr.  Miller 
thought  of  McBurney  as  a  father  would  of  a  son. 
Mr.  Miller  was  chosen  later  a  member  of  the 
international  committee.  He  was  the  founder 
of  the  state  work  in  Ohio,  and  did  a  great  deal 
towards  cementing  the  associations  of  the  East 
and  West.  Although  blind,  he  presided  at  four 
international  conventions,  and  as  ex-president 
attended  all  the  conventions  during  his  lifetime. 
He  was  always  welcomed  to  the  platform  by  his 
successors,  and  was  far  beyond  all  others  the 
pre-eminent  presiding  officer  of  the  American 
association  movement. 

The  chief  subject  for  discussion  at  the 
Albany  convention  was  the  true  mission  of  the 
association.  This  found  expression  at  the  very 
beginning,  in  the  address  given  by  the  retiring 
president,  Mr.  Brainerd.  Speaking  of  this, 
McBurney  said  :  "  He  struck  the  key-note  for 
the    present    successful    association    movement 

167 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

directly  in  behalf  of  young  men.  That  address, 
in  which  Mr.  Brainerd  called  the  convention  to 
order  and  amplified  and  emphasized  the  views 
he  had  advocated  at  former  conventions,  made 
a  lasting  impression  on  the  work  of  the  societies 
in  North  America."  Mr.  Brainerd  said  :  "  Our 
future  progress  rests  upon  an  unswerving  devo- 
tion to  the  primary  objects  and  aims  of  these 
associations — the  social,  mental,  and  religious 
improvement  of  young  men.  As  organizations 
with  these  avowed  objects  we  challenge  atten- 
tion. As  seeking  these  ends  we  are  prominently 
before  the  world.  Because  of  these  things  we 
are  what  we  are.  When  we  deviate  from  them 
we  trench  upon  ground  assigned  to  others." 

Before  going  to  the  convention,  McBurney 
arranged  a  list  of  subjects  for  discussion,  as  he 
feared  the  convention  would  assemble  again 
without  any  topics  having  been  prepared.  This 
list  of  subjects  was  accepted  by  the  committee 
on  business.  The  first  one  was,  "  What  is  the 
True  Aim  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
and  Their  Primary  Field  of  Labor?"  This 
aroused  an  extended  debate. 

Prior  to  the  Albany  convention,  the  execu- 
tive committees  had  been  moved  about  from 
city  to  city,  Each  committee  was  appointed 
for  but  one  year  of  office.  To  the  executive 
committee  which  called  the  Albany  convention 
this  seemed  an  undesirable  arrangement,  and  in 
their  report  presented  by  Rev.  A.  Taylor,  of 
Philadelphia,  they  recommended  a  change  by 
which  the  committee  should  be  located  for  a 
term  of  years  in  one  place,  and  that  the  place 
should  be  New  York  City.    McBurney,  as  chair- 

168 


The  Location  of  the  International  Committee 

man  of  the  committee  on  the  executive  com- 
mittee's report,  recommended  that  in  the  future 
the  committee  be  located  in  New  York  City. 
There  was  some  opposition  to  locating  it  there 
permanently,  and  it  was  voted  to  appoint  an 
international  committee  with  headquarters  in 
New  York  for  three  years.  Its  continuance 
there  was  voted  in  1869,  1872,  1875,  l&79>  and 
1 88 1.  In  1883  the  act  incorporating  the  com- 
mittee and  locating  it  permanently  in  New  York 
was  accepted  and  adopted  by  the  convention. 

While  neither  Mr.  Brainerd  nor  McBurney 
were  made  members  of  this  committee  at  the 
convention,  Mr.  Brainerd  became  its  corres- 
ponding secretary  for  the  first  year.  The  fol- 
lowing year  he  was  elected  chairman,  a  position 
which  he  continued  to  occupy  for  twenty-five 
years.  McBurney  attended  the  committee 
meetings  from  the  beginning  as  its  correspond- 
ing member  for  New  York  state.  He  was 
elected  to  the  committee  at  Portland  in  1869. 
This  brought  him  into  close  touch  with  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  international  work,  and  gave  him 
an  opportunity  to  exercise  a  large  influence  in 
its  development. 

The  twelfth  convention  was  held  at  Mont- 
real, and  was  the  first  convention  to  which  the 
New  York  committee  made  a  report.  McBurney, 
while  not  as  yet  a  full  member  of  the  commit- 
tee, had  been  deeply  interested  in  its  activities. 
He  was  particularly  interested  in  the  revival  of 
work  in  the  South.  In  response  to  a  circular 
calling  the  convention,  the  Charleston  associa- 
tion had  written  that  it  very  much  desired  being 
represented  at  Montreal,  but  financial  circum- 

169 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

stances  forbade  its  sending  delegates.  McBur- 
ney says:  "  I  immediately  went  to  one  or  two 
friends,  and  told  them  the  facts.  Before  an 
hour  from  the  receipt  of  the  letter  had  elapsed, 
a  telegram  was  sent,  saying,  '  Come  at  our  ex- 
pense. I  send  you  tickets  to-night.  You  will 
be  our  guests  from  the  time  you  leave  until  you 
reach  Charleston  again.'  Four  delegates  came, 
and  their  presence  at  Montreal  contributed  great 
additional  interest.  This  was  the  resuming  of 
hearty  fraternal  relations  between  the  Northern 
and  Southern  Associations." 

An  interesting  scene  occurred  at  the  Mont- 
real convention  when  Major-General  W.  T. 
Gregory  of  Fredericksburg  reported  for  Vir- 
ginia. General  Gregory's  speech  was  received 
with  hearty  applause.  At  its  close,  Mr.  E.  V.  C. 
Eato,  colored,  president  of  the  colored  associa- 
tion of  New  York  City,  arose  to  respond.  He 
was  asked  to  go  forward.  As  he  reached  the 
platform,  General  Gregory  stepped  forward  and 
took  him  by  the  hand.  The  convention  as  by 
an  inspiration  arose,  handkerchiefs  waving 
throughout  the  house,  and  the  entire  audience 
united  in  singing,  "Say,  Brothers,  Will  You 
Meet  Us?"     The  scene  was  an  affecting  one. 

McBurney  says:  "When  we  reached  Mont- 
real, we  found  a  great  deal  of  bitterness  emanat- 
ing from  Albany  touching  the  views  which  had 
been  advanced  upon  the  question  of  amuse- 
ments. The  Albany  delegates  who  favored  a 
rigid  policy  were  determined  to  elect  a  presi- 
dent. There  was  also  a  man  from  another 
prominent  association  who  had  been  seeking 
his  own  election.     He  had   written    letters   to 

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The  Location  of  the  International  Committee 

some  gentlemen  on  the  subject.  I  deeply  felt 
the  importance  of  securing  the  election  of  a 
competent  presiding  officer,  and  that  neither  of 
these  gentlemen  was  fitted  for  the  position.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  H.  Thane  Miller  were  stopping  at  St. 
Lawrence  Hall.  Knowing  the  opposition  of 
the  Troy  brethren  on  the  question  of  amuse- 
ments, and  fearful  that  they  would  be  much 
hurt,  I  found  Mr.  Clegg,  the  president  of  the 
Troy  association.  With  Mr.  Miller,  we  went 
over  the  whole  question  in  my  bedroom,  and 
spent  much  time  in  prayer.  Our  conference 
did  not  close  until  one  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
We  saw  no  light  in  regard  to  the  person  who 
should  be  selected.  It  was  agreed  that  Mr. 
Clegg  should  offer  the  resolution,  appointing  a 
nominating  committee.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  session,  Mr.  Miller's  opening  address,  in 
which  he  described  losing  his  sight,  melted 
every  heart.  Men  were  in  tears  throughout  the 
audience.  Mr.  Clegg  offered  the  resolution 
that  the  chair  appoint  a  nominating  committee, 
consisting  of  one  delegate  from  each  state.  A 
representative  from  Albany  immediately  arose 
and  moved  as  an  amendment  that  the  members 
on  the  committee  be  appointed  not  by  the  chair, 
but  by  the  delegates  from  each  state.  The 
amendment  created  much  discussion.  I  arose 
and  said  that  whatever  might  be  the  opinion  of 
the  gentleman  from  Albany  in  regard  to  the 
fairness  of  the  presiding  officer  (Mr.  Miller), 
the  delegates  of  the  convention  had  no  sym- 
pathy with  the  distrust  implied  in  the  amend- 
ment. The  convention  did  not  know,  as  I  did, 
that  Albany  was  seeking  to  get  the  presidency. 

171 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

This  statement  provoked  something  of  a  sen- 
sation and  much  impatience  on  the  part  of  the 
conference.  The  amendment  was  lost  over- 
whelmingly, and  the  original  resolution  adopted. 
So  much  sympathy  for  Mr.  Miller  was  awakened 
that  as  soon  as  the  nominating  committee  re- 
tired, many  members  of  the  convention  hastened 
to  the  committee  and  urged  the  renomination 
of  Mr.  Miller."  The  committee  presented  Mr. 
Miller's  name,  which  was  received  with  spon- 
taneous and  enthusiastic  bursts  of  applause. 

It  became  the  custom  of  the  international 
conventions  for  the  president-elect  to  have  a 
conference  after  the  first  evening  session,  with 
a  few  representatives  from  the  different  states, 
in  order  to  select  the  members  of  the  various 
standing  committees.  McBurney  was  always 
present  at  these  conferences,  and  his  wide  ac- 
quaintance with  association  workers  made  him 
an  important  factor  in  selecting  these  commit- 
tees from  year  to  year. 

Speaking  of  the  Montreal  convention,  Mc- 
Burney said:  "  This  convention  was  the  largest 
we  had  held.  Many  persons  went  for  mere  pleas- 
ure seeking,  and  nearly  swamped  the  Montreal 
association.  Many  of  the  delegates  behaved  in 
a  manner  quite  unbecoming  delegates  to  a  Chris- 
tian association  convention,  absenting  themselves 
from  the  sessions,  driving  about  the  city,  and 
running  up  bills  at  the  hotels,  at  the  expense  of 
the  association. 

"  The  convention  was  more  extensively  re- 
ported in  American  newspapers,  religious  and 
secular,  than  any  preceding  it.  The  result  was, 
that  information   in   regard    to  the   movement 

172 


The  Location  of  the  International  Committee 

was  scattered  broadcast  over  the  whole  country. 
More  associations  were  organized  between  the 
Montreal  and  the  following  convention  than  in 
any  former  decade.  Some  of  these  were  organ- 
ized without  proper  means  being  provided  for 
their  support.  The  convention  was  certainly 
the  most  dramatic  I  have  ever  attended.  The 
spirit  of  the  Lord  was  present  in  the  meetings, 
and  many  dated  the  beginning  of  their  Christian 
life  to  that  memorable  gathering." 

The  attendance  upon  these  three  conven- 
tions, at  Philadelphia,  Albany,  and  Montreal, 
during  the  years  the  New  York  association  was 
entering  upon  its  building  canvass,  helped  to 
make  McBurney  a  leader  among  men.  He 
responded  to  the  impulse  of  the  association 
movement  throughout  the  continent.  The  con- 
vention became  one  of  the  channels  through 
which  he  learned  of  the  condition  of  the  asso- 
ciations. He  formed  acquaintances  which  ex- 
tended his  influence,  and  he  gradually  found 
himself  in  an  ever-widening  fellowship  which 
his  strong  personality  enabled  him  to  direct  and 
mould.  Probably  no  association  leader  had 
attended  as  many  and  as  varied  association  con- 
ventions as  McBurney  had  at  the  time  of  his 
death.  These  early  conventions  prepared  him 
for  his  international  service. 


173 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   EVANGELICAL    AND     EVANGELISTIC 
CONTROVERSIES 

THE  SECURING  OF  ROBERT  WEIDENSALL  AND 
RICHARD  C.  MORSE 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  has 
been  singularly  free  from  theological  disputes. 
It  is  a  practical  organization  established  for 
philanthropic  and  evangelistic  work,  and  has 
neither  the  equipment  nor  the  experience  fitting 
it  to  consider  doctrinal  questions. 

There  have  been  two  important  controversies 
in  which  McBurney  took  a  prominent  part :  one 
theological,  and  the  other  touching  the  scope  of 
the  association's  work.  The  theological  ques- 
tion resulted  in  determining  the  doctrinal  basis 
of  the  association,  and  was  practically  settled 
before  1870.  The  practical  question  with  re- 
gard to  the  aim  and  scope  of  the  movement  was 
agitated  in  the  American  association  from  the 
very  first,  and  cannot  be  said  to  have  been 
finally  settled  until  about  1880.  Here  we  will 
recall  McBurney's  relations  to  these  two  great 
questions,  considering  first  the  doctrinal  basis  of 
the  American  organizations. 

The  first  world's  convention,  which  was 
held  at  Paris  in  1855,  formulated  the  historic 
basis  of  the  movement:  "The  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations  seek  to  unite  those  young 
men  who,  regarding  Jesus  Christ  as  their  God 

174 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

and  Saviour  according  to  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
desire  to  be  his  disciples,  in  their  doctrine  and 
in  their  life,  and  to  associate  their  efforts  for 
the  extension  of  his  kingdom  among  young 
men."  This  is  the  basis  on  the  continent  of 
Europe.  In  Great  Britain  active  members 
"  must  give  decided  evidence  of  conversion  to 
God." 

When  the  American  movement  began  at 
Montreal  and  Boston,  the  Montreal  constitution 
made  no  requirement  except  good  character. 
The  Boston  association  originated  the  idea  of 
limiting  active  membership  to  young  men  who 
were  members  of  evangelical  churches.  This 
plan  was  followed  in  New  York  City  until  1865, 
and  after  a  brief  trial  of  a  broader  basis,  was 
readopted. 

At  the  first  American  convention,  at  Buffalo 
in  1854,  a  resolution  was  introduced  urging  the 
associations  to  accept  an  evangelical  basis,  but 
the  convention  was  absorbed  with  other  ques- 
tions, and  while  it  recommended  an  evangelical 
basis,  it  stated:*  "  This  convention  is  decidedly 
of  the  opinion  that  the  qualifications  for  the 
different  kinds  of  membership  can  be  best  deter- 
mined by  each  association  for  itself,  and  that 
uniformity  of  action  cannot  without  greater  ex- 
perience be  asked  or  expected." 

In  the  mean  time  a  variety  of  practices  had 
sprung  up  among  the  different  associations. 
Cincinnati  required  all  members  to  be  members 
of  evangelical  churches.  A  number  of  associa- 
tions simply  required  good  character,  while 
several  only  required  that  officers  and  members 

*First  Report,  page  59. 

175 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

of  the  board  should  be  members  of  evangelical 
churches. 

While  there  is  no  record  that  McBurney 
opposed  the  adoption  in  New  York  City  of  the 
broader  basis  in  1865,  it  is  plain  that  he  early 
perceived  the  vital  importance  of  this  question. 
His  own  convictions  became  stronger  and 
stronger  that  the  association  must  identify 
itself  with  the  evangelical  church.  With  him 
this  was  not  a  question  of  policy,  although 
nearly  ninety-eight  per  cent  of  American  Prot- 
estants were  evangelical,  but  it  was  a  question 
of  principle.  He  believed  the  perpetuity  of  the 
association  depended  upon  this  issue.  His  first 
efforts  were  in  connection  with  the  work  in  New 
York  state. 

Among  the  significant  contributions  which 
the  Albany  convention  made  to  association 
work  was  the  recommendation,  introduced  on 
McBurney's  motion,  that  the  corresponding 
members  of  the  international  committee  in  the 
different  districts  and  states  should  call  state 
conventions.  At  the  international  convention 
at  Albany  McBurney  brought  together  the  del- 
egates present  from  New  York  state,  and  they 
arranged  to  hold  the  first  state  convention  at 
Oswego,  a  city  which  then  had  no  association. 
McBurney,  who  was  the  corresponding  member 
of  the  international  committee  for  New  York 
state,  made  the  arrangements  for  this  conven- 
tion. It  was  his  province  to  call  the  convention 
to  order,  and  in  doing  so  he  read  a  short  ad- 
dress in  which  he  urged  the  importance  of 
keeping  the  work  true  to  its  primary  object. 

In  the  course  of  this  convention  a  clergyman 
176 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

from  Auburn  introduced  a  resolution  as  fol- 
lows: "That  we  believe  the  admission  of 
unconverted  young  men  to  active  membership 
in  our  association  is  inconsistent  with  the  spirit 
of  our  organizations."  This  resolution  was 
referred  to  the  committee  on  associations,  which 
stated  in  its  report  on  the  succeeding  day  that 
"in  the  opinion  of  this  committee  none  but 
Christian  young  men  should  be  admitted  to 
active  membership  in  these  associations." 

In  calling  the  second  New  York  state  con- 
vention, which  was  held  in  Elmira  in  the  fall  of 
1867,  McBurney  prepared  a  list  of  topics  for 
consideration,  among  which  was,  "What 
Should  Be  the  Test  of  Active  Membership  in 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations?"  Mc- 
Burney opened  the  discussion  of  this  question, 
and  urged  the  limiting  of  active  members  "to 
those  who  are  members  in  good  standing  in 
evangelical  churches."  The  discussion  follow- 
ing showed  a  variety  of  views.  Finally,  after 
reference  to  a  special  committee,  a  resolution 
was  reported  approving  of  the  plan  then  held 
to  in  New  York  City,  namely,  that  all  young 
men  of  good  moral  character  be  eligible  to 
active  membership  and  the  voting  power,  but 
that  only  members  in  good  and  regular  stand- 
ing in  evangelical  churches  be  eligible  to  office. 
This,  however,  did  not  suit  McBurney,  and  he 
spoke  against  the  adoption  of  the  report.  He 
proposed  as  a  substitute  the  declaration  of  the 
Oswego  convention,  namely,  that  "  we  believe 
the  admission  of  unconverted  young  men  to 
active  membership  in  our  associations  is 
inconsistent    with    the    spirit    of     our    organi- 

177 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

zations."  This  was  followed-  by  a  long  and 
animated  discussion.  A  clergyman  from 
Saratoga  said,  "The  distinction  between 
active  and  associate  members  is  a  dead 
letter  with  the  smaller  bodies.  This  invidious 
distinction  has  driven  away  young  men.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  try  to  make  the  association  a  church." 
Another  minister  said,  "We  cannot  grow  on 
this  narrow  basis;  let  all  be  active  members." 

After  eight  speeches  had  been  made,  McBur- 
ney called  for  the  previous  question,  but  as 
objection  was  raised  to  this,  he  was  led  to 
make  one  of  his  few  stirring  convention  ad- 
dresses. He  rose,  and  with  great  earnestness 
said:  "  I  consider  this  to  be  the  most  important 
question  that  can  engage  the  attention  of  this 
convention,  affecting  vitally  the  very  existence 
of  our  associations.  I  deny,  as  has  been  re- 
marked, that  the  opposition  to  the  report  of  the 
committee  is  based  on  what  my  brother  has 
been  pleased  to  style  a  'property  bugbear.'  The 
bugbear  is  the  honor  of  the  cross  of  Christ.  Are 
we  prepared  to  allow  these  associations  as  iden- 
tified with  his  cause,  to  be  placed  under  the  con- 
trol and  government  of  those  whom  he  has 
clearly  defined  as  his  enemies?  He  tells  us,  we 
have  it  from  his  own  lips,  that  '  no  man  can 
serve  two  masters,  for  either  he  will  hate  the 
one  and  love  the  other,  or  else  he  will  hold  to 
the  one  and  despise  the  other.  Ye  cannot 
serve  God  and  mammon.'  And  yet  in  view  of 
these  teachings  of  our  Lord,  not  to  be  misunder- 
stood, there  are  brethren  here  who  appeal  to 
us  to  manifest  a  broad  and  liberal  spirit  by 
admitting    to    active    membership,    giving    the 

178 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

right  to  vote,  and  thus  the  control  of  these 
agencies  which  God  has  been  pleased  in  such  a 
remarkable  manner  to  bless  in  the  extension  of 
his  kingdom  among  young  men,  to  those  whom 
Christ  himself  has  declared  to  be  his  enemies. 
I  am  not  here  to-day,  as  has  been  intimated,  to 
ask  for  any  favors  or  concessions  on  the  part  of 
the  larger  associations — they  are  able  to  protect 
themselves — but  I  stand  before  you  to  plead  the 
cause  of  the  smaller  societies  and  of  earnest 
young  men  loving  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
are  here  to-day  contemplating  the  organization 
of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  in  their 
towns,  and  who  came  hither  seeking  informa- 
tion in  relation  to  the  mode  of  organizing  and 
carrying  forward  the  work  for  which  such  socie- 
ties are  instituted. 

"  It  has  been  stated  that  associations  in  small 
towns  cannot  sustain  themselves  if  they  do  not 
confer  the  right  to  vote  on  irreligious  young 
men  seeking  admission  to  them,  and  that  the 
societies  denying  this  right  do  not  give  young 
men  sufficient  for  their  money.  Who  will  say 
that  men  renting  pews  in  this  church,  and  not 
members,  sitting  Sunday  after  Sunday  under 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  do  not 
get  sufficient  in  return  for  their  money  because 
they  cannot  elect  the  pastor,  the  deacons,  or 
elders,  and  control  its  government?  What  kind 
of  churches  and  preaching  would  we  have  if 
these  modern  liberal  ideas  were  adopted?  Let 
us  firmly  and  unceasingly  maintain  the  standard 
which  the  associations  on  this  continent  have 
ever  held.  Let  us  so  act  on  this  question  that 
it  may  not  be  the  painful  duty  of  a  member  of 

179 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

any  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  this 
state  at  the  next  convention  to  say,  '  we  followed 
the  advice  of  your  committee,  and  our  associa- 
tion has  lost  its  Christian  character.'  "  This 
speech  turned  the  tide  of  the  convention.  Only 
remarks  in  support  of  the  evangelical  posi- 
tion followed,  and  McBurney's  amendment  was 
adopted. 

The  following  February  a  strong  article  ad- 
vocating the  evangelical  basis  for  active  mem- 
bership in  the  association,  prepared  by  Cephas 
Brainerd,  appeared  in  the  Quarterly.  Mr. 
Brainerd  had  in  the  New  York  board  opposed 
the  broader  basis  which  was  adopted  in  1865, 
and  without  doubt  had  a  strong  influence  over 
McBurney's  convictions  on  this  question.  In 
the  mean  time  the  question  had  become  a  very 
live  one  throughout  the  country.  In  1868  re- 
ports were  received  from  two  hundred  and  six- 
teen associations  in  America.  Of  these,  three 
had  no  test  for  membership,  sixty-seven  required 
good  moral  character,  four  required  active  mem- 
bers to  have  Christian  character,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-two,  or  sixty-five  per  cent,  re- 
quired for  active  membership,  membership  in 
evangelical  churches. 

The  international  convention  that  year  was 
to  be  held  at  Detroit.  McBurney  was  made 
first  vice-president  of  this  convention.  With 
the  hearty  approval  of  McBurney  and  all  the 
members  of  the  international  committee,  a  res- 
olution had  been  prepared  by  the  chairman,  Mr. 
Brainerd,  on  the  evangelical  basis.  This  reso- 
lution was  incorporated  in  the  report  made  by 
the  committee    to    the    convention   as   follows: 

180 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

"  That  a  resolution  be  adopted  by  the  conven- 
tion to  the  effect  that  membership  in  good 
standing  in  an  evangelical  church  should  be  the 
unvarying  test  of  active  membership  in  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations." 

11  That  a  resolution  be  adopted  instructing 
the  executive  committee  and  the  corresponding 
members  to  use  all  reasonable  and  proper  meas- 
ures to  secure  the  adoption  of  this  test  by  all 
the  associations,  and  especially  to  strive  to 
obtain  its  incorporation  in  the  most  permanent 
form  in  the  constitutions  of  such  associations  as 
may  hereafter  be  formed."  McBurney  was  ac- 
tive in  making  sentiment  at  the  Detroit  conven- 
tion in  behalf  of  this  resolution. 

Some  years  later  a  prominent  secretary,  who 
was  then  a  member  of  the  Pittsburg  association, 
related:  "In  1867  the  requisite  for  active  mem- 
bership in  the  Pittsburg  association  was  simply 
good  moral  character.  The  next  year,  1868,  I 
went  to  my  first  convention  at  Detroit,  where 
they  brought  up  the  proposition  for  the  evan- 
gelical test  of  active  membership.  I  had  been 
active  before  I  became  a  Christian,  which  was 
not  for  some  time  afterwards.  I  went  to  the 
convention  to  oppose  this  proposition  as 
strongly  as  I  knew  how,  resolved  that  I  was 
going  to  do  my  level  best  to  prevent  its  adop- 
tion. McBurney  heard  of  it  in  some  way,  and 
got  Mr.  Brainerd  to  come  and  have  a  personal 
talk  with  me  on  the  subject.  McBurney  also 
talked  with  me.  They  both  impressed  me  so 
much,  and  the  rest  of  the  large  delegation  from 
Pittsburg,  that  we  stood  behind  the  New  York 
men  in  pushing  through  the  resolution." 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

Mr.  J.  H.  Cheever  of  Cincinnati  was  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  the  report  of  the  ex- 
ecutive committee.  In  his  reminiscences  of  the 
early  conventions,  prepared  about  1885,  McBur- 
ney, in  speaking  of  the  action  on  the  evangel- 
ical test  at  Detroit,  states:  "  I  wrote  a  resolution 
on  this  subject  and  handed  it  to  Mr.  Cheever, 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  the  executive 
committee's  report.  It  will  be  found  on  page 
94,  fourth  paragraph,  of  the  convention  report." 
The  resolution  was  as  follows:  "  Resolved,  as 
these  organizations  bear  the  name  of  Christian, 
and  profess  to  be  engaged  directly  in  the  Sa- 
viour's service,  so  it  is  clearly  their  duty  to  main- 
tain the  control  and  management  of  all  their 
affairs  in  the  hands  of  those  who  love  and  pub- 
licly avow  their  faith  in  Jesus,  the  Redeemer,  as 
divine,  and  who  testify  their  faith  by  becoming 
and  remaining  members  of  churches  held  to  be 
evangelical,  and  that  such  persons  and  no  others 
should  be  allowed  to  vote  or  hold  office."  This 
resolution,  in  addition  to  the  one  prepared  by 
Mr.  Brainerd  which  has  already  been  quoted, 
was  adopted  at  the  Detroit  convention.  Thus 
ended  the  first  act  in  this  important  contro- 
versy. 

At  this  convention  McBurney  added  another 
to  the  many  services  which  he  rendered  the 
association  cause.  Speaking  of  this  gathering 
in  his  reminiscences  he  says:  "  Before  going  to 
the  convention,  Mr.  S.  A.  Kean  of  Chicago 
called  on  me  and  urged  the  importance  of  a 
mission  to  the  young  men  on  the  lines  of  the 
Pacific  railroad.  The  suggestion  commended 
itself  to  my  judgment  and  I  immediately  pro- 

182 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

ceeded  to  secure  contributions  for  this  purpose. 
In  a  short  time  I  had  obtained  $800.  When  I 
went  to  the  convention  I  asked  Mr.  Kean  to 
offer  a  resolution  instructing  the  executive  com- 
mittee to  employ  a  man  on  the  line  of  the 
Pacific  railroad.  This  he  declined  to  do,  and  I 
offered  the  resolution,  which  was  adopted." 

Mr.  Brainerd  opened  correspondence  with 
the  leaders  at  Omaha,  which  resulted  in  the 
employment  of  Robert  Weidensall,  who  became 
the  first  paid  agent  of  the  affiliated  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  of  America. 
Mr.  Weidensall  was  a  pioneer  in  work  for  young 
men.  He  foresaw  many  of  the  association's 
developments  and  led  in  them.  He  has  been 
called  the  "bishop  of  the  West"  and  the 
"prophet"  of  the  association  movement. 

The  culminating  stage  in  the  development  of 
the  evangelical  controversy  took  place  at  the 
Portland  convention  in  1869.  Most  of  those 
friendly  to  having  the  association  placed  upon 
an  evangelical  basis  regarded  the  question  as 
settled  by  the  Detroit  convention,  and  there  was 
no  expectation  of  any  further  discussion.  The 
international  committee  in  its  report  proposed 
the  reaffirmation  of  the  resolution  on  the  evan- 
gelical basis  adopted  at  Detroit.  When  this 
was  proposed,  some  one  asked  for  a  statement 
of  the  resolution,  which  was  accordingly  read. 
This  prompted  Major-General  O.  O.  Howard 
of  Washington  to  inquire,  "What  is  an  evan- 
gelical church?  Is  it  one  whose  members  love 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ?"  Mr.  H.  Thane  Miller 
called  out  from  the  floor,  "  That  is  just  it."  This 
led  to  an  historic  discussion.    A  clergyman  from 

183 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

Fall  River,  Mass.,  declared,  "  There  are  many 
Unitarians  in  our  churches  and  associations  who 
love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  much  as  any  of  us. 
The  report  just  made  excludes  from  our  associa- 
tions many  excellent  men.  All  who  recognize 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  Redeemer  should  be 
admitted."  A  clergyman  from  Wheeling,  W. 
Va.,  declared  with  some  vehemence,  "  I  deny 
that  any  man  can  love  the  Lord  Jesus  who  denies 
that  he  is  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  If  a  man 
denies  him  the  crown  of  divinity,  he  robs  him 
of  his  glory,  and  I  cannot  associate  with  him  in 
Christian  fellowship."  This  utterance  provoked 
great  applause  and  immense  enthusiasm.  Rev. 
J.  M.  Buckley  rose  and  said:  "There  may  be, 
and  doubtless  are,  people  in  the  Unitarian  and 
Universalist  churches,  and  the  outside  world, 
too,  who  may  be  in  sympathy  with  our  Jesus, 
but  no  real  logical  Unitarian  ever  will  express 
belief  in  the  crucifixion  of  Christ  as  his  redemp- 
tion from  sin.  While  there  may  be  some  good 
moral  Unitarians,  it  is  unsafe  to  take  them  into 
our  full  fraternity."  Rev.  Howard  Crosby,  U.D., 
of  New  York  City,  proposed  that  evangelical 
churches  be  defined  as  "  those  churches  which 
believe  in  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  our  Divine  Redeemer,  received  by 
faith  as  the  sole  source  of  salvation  from  eternal 
death."  Perhaps  the  most  convincing  speech  in 
support  of  the  evangelical  basis  was  made  by 
Cephas  Brainerd,  chairman  of  the  International 
Committee,  although  the  record  of  this  was 
omitted  in  the  printed  report. 

Several  efforts  were  now  made  to  remove  the 
question  from  the  floor  by  referring  it  to  a  com- 

184 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

mittee.  The  discussion  had  been  carried  on 
chiefly  by  clergymen.  A  minister  from  Provi- 
dence now  rose  and  said  :  "  This  question  is  all- 
important,  and  we  should  be  very  cautious  in 
approaching  it.  It  has  divided  and  sub-divided 
the  Christian  church  for  fifteen  hundred  years, 
and  still  agitates  it."  He  moved  that  the  ques- 
tion be  referred  to  a  special  committee  to  report. 
This  was  carried. 

At  this  critical  moment,  McBurney  who  had 
been  following  the  debate  with  the  deepest  inter- 
est, secured  the  floor,  and  took  the  liberty  to 
suggest  the  members  of  this  committee.  He 
moved  that  the  special  committee  consist  of 
Rev.  Howard  Crosby  of  New  York,  Rev.  S.  H. 
Lee  of  Greenfield,  Mass.,  Rev.  G.  M.  Grant  of 
Halifax,  Rev.  D.  C.  Kellogg  of  Providence,  and 
Major-General  O.  O.  Howard  of  Washington — 
all  clergymen  except  one.  Dr.  Crosby  reported 
for  this  committee  that  "  we  hold  those  churches 
to  be  evangelical  which,  maintaining  the  Holy 
Scriptures  to  be  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith 
and  practice,  do  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
(the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,  King  of  kings 
and  Lord  of  lords,  in  whom  dwells  the  fullness 
of  the  godhead  bodily,  and  who  was  made  sin 
for  us,  though  knowing  no  sin,  bearing  our  sins 
in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,)  as  the  only  name 
under  heaven  given  among  men  whereby  we  must 
be  saved  from  everlasting  punishment."  The 
vote  upon  the  acceptance  of  this  formula  was 
unanimous,  the  convention  giving  vent  to  its 
enthusiasm  by  spontaneously  rising  and  singing 
the  hymn  Coronation,  "  All  hail  the  power  of 
Jesus'    name."     "  I  have   frequently  heard  that 

185 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

hymn  sung,"  said  McBurney,  "  but  never  so 
enthusiastically  or  with  more  emotion.  Strong 
men  wept  like  children,  and  I  realized  that  the 
action  of  the  Portland  convention  would  make 
an  indelible  mark  upon  the  association  move- 
ment of  the  continent.  These  expectations  were 
more  than  realized.  From  this  convention  has 
dated  a  permanent  growth  and  a  sympathy  and 
co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  evangelical  pas- 
tors such  as  the  associations  had  not  experienced 
before." 

The  convention  followed  up  this  resolution 
by  enacting  that  of  associations  organized  in  the 
future,  only  those  established  on  an  evangelical 
basis  should  be  admitted  to  the  international 
convention.  This  practically  settled  the  evan- 
gelical controversy  in  America,  and  though  it 
was  some  years  before  there  was  uniformity, 
the  movement  has  since  been  identified  with  the 
evangelical  church. 

Mr.  Morse,  some  years  afterward,  in  speaking 
of  this  controversy,  said  :  "  The  correspondence 
of  the  international  committee  early  in  the  '70' s 
shows  that  there  was  a  good  deal  of  protest 
against  this  test.  In  not  a  few  cities  attempt 
was  made  to  organize  and  carry  on  the  work 
without  it.  But  not  enough  dissent  was  mani- 
fested to  create  any  serious  discussion  in  any  of 
the  state  or  international  conventions,  and  ex- 
perimentation by  local  associations  invariably 
brought  the  association  back  to  the  evangelical 
basis.  It  was  the  associations  with  this  test  that 
secured  secretaries  and  buildings  —  in  other 
words,  the  men  and  the  money  necessary  to  carry 
on  the  work.     The  associations  attempted  upon 

186 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

other  tests  failed  in  the  direction  of  both  men 
and  money." 

For  three  years  the  international  committee 
had  been  located  in  New  York  City.  It  had 
already  in  its  employ  a  traveling  secretary  in 
the  West,  but  its  work  of  administration  and 
correspondence  was  carried  on  gratuitously  by 
Mr.  Brainerd,  the  details  of  which,  however, 
were  becoming  arduous  for  a  lawyer  in  active 
practice. 

On  motion  of  McBurney  at  the  Albany  con- 
vention, in  1866,  the  committee  had  been  in- 
structed to  publish  a  quarterly.  This  had 
been  done  with  success  for  three  years.  The 
convention  at  Portland  passed  a  resolution  in- 
structing the  committee  to  change  the  periodi- 
cal to  a  monthly,  and  authorizing  the  committee 
"to  employ  a  person  to  act  as  its  secretary  and 
perform  such  editorial  and  other  duties  as  it 
may  assign  to  him  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
business  with  which  they  are  charged."  This 
action  led  to  a  development  of  great  importance, 
both  to  the  association  work  at  large  and  to 
McBurney  personally.  In  the  person  of  Rich- 
ard C.  Morse,  he  secured  his  closest  friend,  and 
the  associations  a  general  secretary  for  the  inter- 
national committee.  Speaking  of  this  event 
McBurney  said,  "  The  year  following  the  Port- 
land convention  compassed  one  of  the  most 
marked  achievements  in  the  history  of  the  as- 
sociations of  North  America  in  securing  to 
association  work  Richard  C.  Morse." 

Mr.  Morse  and  McBurney  were  already  some- 
what acquainted.  At  that  time  Mr.  Morse 
was  assistant  editor  of  the  New  York  Observer. 

187 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  and  an  alumnus  of 
both  Princeton  and  Union  Theological  Semi- 
naries. He  was  already  succeeding  in  the 
sphere  of  religious  journalism.  He  first  met 
McBurney  in  1865,  when  he  went  to  the  rooms 
to  secure  a  boarding-house  for  a  young  man 
from  the  country.  McBurney  helped  him  in 
his  usual  courteous  way.  Later  he  became  an 
active  member  of  the  association. 

In  1867  a  general  religious  convention  was 
held  in  New  York  City,  of  which  McBurney 
was  one  of  the  committee  of  management. 
Mr.  Morse  attended  this  and  wrote  it  up 
with  such  accuracy  for  the  New  York  Ob- 
server that  it  attracted  McBurney's  special 
attention.  The  following  year  McBurney  sought 
to  inaugurate  some  open-air  meetings  in  Wash- 
ington Square.  Speaking  of  this,  McBurney 
said:  "When  our  open-air  work  commenced  I 
went  to  the  office  of  the  Observer  to  secure  Mr. 
Morse's  co-operation  in  that  work.  In  this  inter- 
view he  completely  won  my  heart  by  the  sym- 
pathetic spirit  which  he  manifested  in  regard  to 
the  undertaking.  He  agreed  to  come  to  the 
open-air  meeting  provided  he  would  not  be 
called  upon  to  speak.  Before  the  close  of  the 
meeting,  however,  he  asked  to  be  allowed  to 
say  a  few  words.  His  address  was  most  fervent 
and  effective." 

When  it  was  proposed  to  secure  a  secretary 
for  the  international  committee  who  should  also 
be  editor  of  the  association  paper,  McBurney  at 
once  thought  of  Mr.  Morse.  He  says,  "  I 
pressed  his  name  on  the  committee  for  the 
editorship."     In    the    mean    time    Mr.  Morse's 

188 


RICHARD  C.  MORSE 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

interest  in  the  association  cause  had  been 
increasing.  Speaking  of  this  Mr.  Morse  said: 
"I  remember  being  deeply  stirred  by  the  ac- 
counts of  the  Portland  convention  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1869.  I  read  of  the  adoption  of  the 
evangelical  test.  My  brother-in-law,  an  old  as- 
sociation leader,  said  of  it,  '  That  shows  the 
association  has  got  onto  the  right  track  and  is 
going  to  keep  on  it.'  A  little  while  after  this 
McBurney  came  to  the  office  with  a  distinct 
errand  for  me.  He  said  the  international  com- 
mittee wanted  to  make  their  paper  a  monthly, 
and  the  committee  wanted  me  to  become  its 
editor;  that  he  thought  of  me  as  the  best  per- 
son of  his  acquaintance  to  take  hold  of  the  work 
on  account  of  my  experience  in  the  office  of  the 
Observer."  For  a  time  Mr.  Morse  was  unwill- 
ing to  entertain  this  project. 

When  onerecallsthat  in  1 869  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  was  an  immature  and  com- 
paratively unknown  religious  movement,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  the  friends  of  a  man  with  a 
thorough  university  and  seminary  education, 
who  was  in  the  line  of  promotion  on  a  metropol- 
itan religious  journal,  should  have  urged  that 
there  was  no  opportunity  for  a  career  of  marked 
usefulness  in  taking  such  a  step.  But  Mr.  Brain- 
erd  and  McBurney  both  urged  the  matter 
earnestly  upon  Mr.  Morse,  and  he  finally  drew 
up  a  plan  embodying  his  idea  of  how  to  con- 
duct the  paper.  Mr.  Morse  says:  "When  I 
went  before  the  committee  to  explain  my  plan, 
they  accepted  it,  and  renewed  their  invitation  to 
me.  I  said  I  would  accept  on  the  first  of  Decem- 
ber, 1869,  and   issue  the   paper  on  the  first  of 

189 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

January.  That  same  December  the  New  York 
association  moved  into  the  Twenty-third  Street 
building,  and  the  room  over  McBurney's  office 
was  assigned  to  the  international  committee 
free  of  rent,  and  we  occupied  it  for  many  years. 
That  was  the  beginning  of  my  close  acquaint- 
ance with  McBurney." 

Mr.  Morse,  with  the  most  self-denying  and 
arduous  labor,  conducted  the  monthly  for  the 
years  1870  and  187 1,  securing  sufficient  adver- 
tisements to  make  it  pay  its  way,  and  at  the 
same  time  doing  the  work  of  editor.  But  he 
did  not  feel  equal  to  continuing  permanently  as 
both  editor  and  publisher.  He  spent  the  first 
part  of  1872  in  visiting  as  the  agent  of  the 
committee  the  associations  in  New  England 
and  the  Maritime  Provinces,  and  in  that  year  he 
accepted  the  invitation  of  the  committee  to 
devote  his  entire  time  to  its  service  as  its  general 
executive  secretary,  a  position  which  he  has 
since  occupied. 

The  friendship  for  Mr.  Morse  was  the  closest 
attachment  which  McBurney  formed.  He  some- 
times clashed  with  others  of  his  friends,  but 
these  two  worked  in  thorough  harmony  through- 
out McBurney's  life.  Between  them  there  was 
a  strong  affinity,  and  their  aptitudes  and  pro- 
ficiencies were  mutually  supplemental. 

From  the  time  that  McBurney  won  Mr. 
Morse  for  the  service,  they  worked  together 
unitedly  in  the  American,  the  European,  and 
the  world  work.  It  is  hard  to  differentiate 
between  the  influence  of  each:  often  their  influ- 
ence was  joint.  Speaking  of  his  sense  of 
indebtedness  to  McBurney,  Mr.  Morse  has  said: 

190 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

"  I  came  to  him  a  college  boy  with  very  little 
experience  of  men  and  things  compared  with 
what  he  had.  He  was  older  in  life  than  I.  Ever 
since  his  seventeenth  year  he  had  been  knock- 
ing around  among  men  and  taking  care  of  him- 
self, so  he  was  far  older  in  practical  affairs.  I  was 
general  secretary  of  the  international  commit- 
tee and  had  never  been  a  local  secretary.  I  had 
never  struggled  with  local  problems.  My  intimate 
association  with  him,  as  he  was  working  out  the 
association's  idea  in  its  fourfold  development, 
gave  me  a  practical  knowledge,  without  which 
my  whole  life  work  would  have  lacked  its  very 
kernel." 

McBurney  was  unstinted  in  his  expressions 
of  regard  and  appreciation  of  Mr.  Morse.  In 
his  reminiscences  he  says:  "The  association 
monthly  was  the  means  God  used  in  securing 
the  most  valuable  man  who  has  become  identified 
with  our  work I  have  had  very  close  inter- 
course with  him  for  many  years,  and  desire  to 
say  that  I  never  came  in  contact  with  a  man 
more  unselfish,  more  sympathetic,  ormore  ardent 
in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  The  greater  the  diffi- 
culties which  concern  a  problem  in  which  he  is 
engaged,  the  more  he  strains  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  object.  He  has  the  faculty  of 
making  everybody's  struggles  his  own,  and  lift- 
ing others  out  of  difficulties  from  which  they 
cannot  extricate  themselves.  His  nature  is  truly 
a  vicarious  nature,  more  so  than  that  of  any  man 
I  ever  knew. 

"  The  securing  of  Mr.  Morse  was  certainly 
the  most  valuable  acquisition  to  the  association 
yet  received.     In  Mr.  Morse  the  associations  of 

191 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

America  realized  the  longing  of  Nasmith  when 
he  said,  in  1838,  'My  deep  regret  is  that  no 
apostle  of  young  men's  societies  has  arisen  and 
thrown  his  whole  soul  and  mind,  as  well  as 
time,  into  them,  that  their  important  designs 
might  be  carried  out  with  effect.'  How  fully 
this  has  been  realized  in  him,  the  condition  of 
the  associations  in  our  land  and  the  development 
and  organization  of  affiliated  association  work 
on  the  continent  of  Europe  and  in  the  world, 
bear  ample  testimony."  McBurney  once  said, 
"The  best  thing  I  ever  did  was  to  get  Mr. 
Morse  into  association  work." 

The  second  great  question  of  policy  during 
these  years  related  to  the  aim  of  the  association, 
and  the  character  of  its  work.  Should  the  asso- 
ciations engage  in  general  evangelistic  work  for 
all  classes,  or  should  their  work  be  a  specialized, 
organized  effort  for  the  creation  and  culture  of 
Christian  young  manhood? 

McBurney's  attitude  on  this  question  is  seen 
in  his  work  as  secretary  of  the  New  York  City 
association.  He  pressed  his  convictions  with 
equal  determination  upon  the  associations  at 
large.  One  of  the  difficulties  of  a  clear  defini- 
tion upon  this  issue  lay  in  the  fact  that  those  in 
sympathy  with  limiting  the  association  to  work 
among  young  men  were  usually  in  sympathy 
with  general  evangelistic  work,  provided  it 
should  be  carried  on  under  the  auspices  of  the 
church.  They  hesitated  to  appear  to  oppose  a 
work  which  they  believed  was  of  vital  impor- 
tance. On  the  other  hand,  those  who  advocated 
the  general  evangelistic  work  were,  most  of 
them,  equally  enthusiastic  over  the  associations 

192 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

doing  a  symmetrical,  all-round  work  for  young 
men.  The  issue  finally  narrowed  itself  to 
whether  general  evangelistic  work  was  a  proper 
sphere  in  which  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation should  engage. 

Two  men  and  two  buildings  stood  out  in 
1870  for  these  two  tendencies:  one  the  building 
erected  at  Chicago  under  the  leadership  of 
Mr.  Moody,  who  was  then  president  and  gen- 
eral secretary  of  the  Chicago  association;  the 
other  the  building  on  Twenty-third  Street,  New 
York. 

The  great  work  at  this  time  in  the  Chicago 
association  consisted  in  evangelistic  endeavor. 
Mr.  Moody  preached  every  Sunday  evening  to 
a  large  general  audience,  and  went  out  during 
the  week  to  neighboring  towns  for  similar  ser- 
vice. The  constitution  of  the  Chicago  associa- 
tion had  been  so  altered  as  to  state  that  the 
mission  of  the  organization  was  "  to  all  within 
the  reach  of  the  association,  without  distinction 
of  sex,  age,  or  condition."  In  the  Chicago 
building  there  were  no  appliances  for  educa- 
tional work,  no  gymnasium,  and  little  or  no 
library.  It  was  for  some  years  the  headquar- 
ters for  the  charitable  work  of  the  city.  Mr. 
Moody  was  beginning  there  his  great  life  work 
as  an  evangelist. 

The  work  of  the  New  York  building  has 
already  been  fully  described.  Which  of  the  two 
types  represented  by  these  two  typical  men  and 
two  typical  buildings  was  to  prevail  in  the  asso- 
ciation movement  became  a  foremost  subject 
for  discussion  and  experimentation  during  the 
decade    following    1870.     Both   plans   of   work 

193 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

were  discussed  on  the  floors  of  the  international 
convention  and  in  the  state  conventions.  These 
tendencies  did  not  organize  themselves  into 
well-defined  parties,  but  there  was  a  disposition 
on  the  part  of  one  group  to  urge  the  association, 
in  its  state  and  local  work,  to  push  various 
forms  of  general  evangelistic  endeavor;  while 
the  tendency  of  the  other  group  was  to  push  the 
organization  of  local  associations,  the  erection 
of  buildings,  the  securing  of  general  secretaries, 
and  the  development  of  the  physical,  social, 
intellectual,  and  spiritual  work  for  young  men. 

At  the  Albany  convention,  in  1866,  Mr. 
Moody,  in  urging  the  general  work,  had  said, 
"  God  wants  us  to  go  forth  and  preach  the 
gospel  to  the  whole  world."  Referring  to  this 
incident,  McBurney  afterwards  wrote:  "Mr. 
Dwight  L.  Moody  took  a  very  active  part  in  the 
Albany  convention,  and  urged  the  associations 
to  engage  in  nearly  all  kinds  of  Christian  work. 
I  opposed  his  view  so  earnestly  that  he  consid- 
ered I  was  opposed  to  him  personally,  and 
stated  this  to  me  on  his  return  from  Albany; 
but  this  was  not  the  case."  McBurney's  deep 
sympathy  with  Mr.  Moody  and  his  evangelistic 
work  was  shown  at  the  time  of  the  Moody  meet- 
ings in  New  York,  and  later  in  connection  with 
the  college  conferences  at  Northfield. 

Mr.  Moody  soon  severed  official  connection 
with  the  Chicago  association  for  a  life  work  as 
an  evangelist.  In  this  capacity  he  was  always 
friendly  to  the  associations  in  the  towns  he  visit- 
ed. He  delivered  many  from  debt,  established 
many  new  associations,  and  secured  funds  for 
the  erection  of  buildings.     In  America  and  the 

194 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

British  Isles,  he  raised  money  for  the  erection 
of  more  buildings  for  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations  than  has  been  raised  by  any  other 
individual.  Speaking  of  his  work,  Mr.  Morse 
remarks :  "  It  might  be  said  that  Mr.  Moody 
influenced  the  spiritual  life  and  activity  of 
enough  association  secretaries  to  make  it  true 
of  him  that  he  leavened  the  working  force  of 
the  associations  with  a  spiritual  influence." 
McBurney  said  of  him,  in  his  historical  sketch  of 
the  associations:  "It  is  certainly  worthy  of 
mention  that  Mr.  Moody,  who  has  been  such  a 
wonderful  blessing  to  the  church  of  Christ  in 
this  generation,  testifies,  'The  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  has  under  God  done  more 
in  developing  me  for  Christian  work  than  any 
other  agency.'  On  the  other  hand,  it  should  be 
said  that  the  associations  on  both  sides  of  the 
sea  owe  very  much  to  Mr.  Moody  for  the  spirit- 
ual life  that  he  has  been  the  means  of  infusing 
into  their  membership  and  agencies,  and  also 
for  the  material  aid  which  he  has  secured  for 
them  along  the  pathway  of  his  active  work." 

In  the  mean  time  a  great  wave  of  interest  in 
fervent  evangelistic  effort  swept  over  the  asso- 
ciations in  the  states  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  and 
Ohio  in  the  West,  and  the  six  New  England 
states  in  the  East.  Delegations  of  young  men 
went  out  from  the  strong  city  associations  to 
conduct  evangelistic  meetings  in  the  churches 
of  neighboring  towns,  and  the  movement  took 
on  the  nature  of  a  general  revival.  For  some 
time  this  tendency  seemed  dominant,  but  the 
international  committee  never  gave  it  its  alle- 
giance.    The  states  of   New   York  and   Penn- 

i95 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

sylvania  turned  their  attention  definitely  to 
building  up  a  specialized  work  for  young  men. 
In  his  historical  sketch  of  the  association,  Mc- 
Burney says,  "  From  the  beginning  of  the 
association  movement,  there  seemed  to  be  a  dis- 
position to  give  much  attention  to  general  forms 
of  religious  and  philanthropic  work,  carried  on 
chiefly  by  young  men  but  not  for  them."  At 
the  international  conventions  of  Poughkeepsie, 
Dayton,  Richmond,  Toronto,  and  Louisville, 
covering  the  years  1873  to  l&77>  the  leaders 
particularly  urged  this  form  of  effort.  Some  of 
the  state  committees  gave  their  chief  attention 
to  stimulating  the  holding  of  general  evangelistic 
meetings.  These  committees  thus  constituted 
themselves  a  mission  to  the  churches  rather 
than  a  mission  to  young  men.  The  almost  total 
neglect  by  some  state  committees  of  specific 
association  work  hindered  the  associations 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  these  committees 
from  keeping  pace  with  the  group  in  other  sec- 
tions. It  is  not  doubted  but  that  vast  good  was 
done  by  this  general  evangelistic  work,  but  the 
association  cause  suffered  very  much  by  this 
divergence. 

State  Secretary  Taggart,  of  Pennsylvania, 
while  a  man  with  evangelistic  gifts,  was  one  of 
the  effective  agents  in  turning  the  tide  towards 
organized  work  for  young  men. 

One  of  the  most  influential  papers  which 
McBurney  ever  prepared  was  upon  this  subject. 
It  was  presented  before  the  New  York  state 
convention  in  1877,  and  was  circulated  through 
the  whole  association  brotherhood.  In  this 
paper  he  made  a  comparison  between  the  sec- 

196 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

tions  of  the  country  where  organized,  specialized 
work  for  young  men  was  carried  on,  and  the 
sections  where  a  general  evangelistic  work  was 
the  chief  feature.  In  this  paper  he  said  :  "  The 
general  policy  of  the  New  York  state  association 
work,  touching  evangelistic  effort,  has  been 
conservative,  thus  commending  our  cause  to  the 
favor  of  the  ministry,  and  to  the  best  element 
in  our  churches.  In  work  for  young  men,  we 
have  been  absorbed  and  aggressive,  and  in  this 
the  associations  have  simply  sought  to  do  the 
work  for  which  they  honestly  claim  to  be 
organized.  They  have  never  esteemed  them- 
selves to  be  a  mission  to  the  church,  but  a  mis- 
sion of  the  church  for  reaching  young  men. 
The  confidence  awakened  by  this  course  has 
given  the  associations  of  New  York  a  pre- 
eminence and  an  intelligent,  liberal  constituency. 
This  is  one  reason  why  more  money  in  aid  of 
the  association  cause  has  been  given  by  our 
state  than  by  any  other.  As  a  result  of  this 
honest  emphasis  laid  by  the  associations  of  New 
York  upon  work  for  young  men,  not  only  do 
they  own  more  property  in  buildings  than  any 
other  state,  but  there  has  been  such  a  demand 
for  Christian  young  men  to  devote  their  whole 
time  as  general  secretaries  to  the  organizing  and 
pushing  of  this  work,  that  in  the  cities  of  New 
York  there  are  now  twenty  such  officers  em- 
ployed by  individual  societies — a  greater  num- 
ber than  in  any  other  state. 

"  Methods  of  state  work  have  occupied  con- 
siderable prominence  in  the  discussions  of  the 
international  convention,  especially  for  the  past 
five   years.      Let  us  select  two   representative 

197 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

methods :  state  work  in  New  England  on  the 
one  hand,  and  state  work  in  Pennsylvania  on 
the  other — they  represent  divergent  ideas. 

"The  New  England  work  has  been  instru- 
mental in  leading  many  souls  to  Christ,  and  has 
quickened  many  churches.  This  work,  how- 
ever, can  in  no  sense  be  considered  distinctively 
associational,  but  should  be  termed  general 
evangelistic.  In  carrying  out  the  New  England 
plan,  invitations  are  extended  to  the  churches, 
or  associations,  or  both,  to  the  effect  that  the 
state  secretary  and  committee  are  prepared  to 
hold  evangelistic  services  in  their  communities. 
The  committee  then  selects  from  the  favorable 
responses  a  number  sufficient  to  occupy  the 
labors  of  the  year,  going  to  each  place  from 
three  days  to  a  week.  In  these  meetings  no 
special  emphasis  is  laid  upon  work  for  young 
men,  no  attention  is  given  to  instructing  or  stim- 
ulating associations;  indeed,  except  that  those 
engaged  in  the  work  are  generally  members  of 
local  associations,  and  are  sent  out  by  state  con- 
ventions bearing  our  name,  the  work  cannot  be 
considered  as  belonging  to  our  societies.  It  is 
practically  a  mission  to  churches  and  commu- 
nities generally,  and  not  distinctively  to  young 
men  or  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations.  It 
does  not  call  for  organization  or  increased  vigor 
in  the  operation  of  local  associations.  This 
constitutes  the  weakness  of  the  method  pursued 
in  New  England. 

"The  Pennsylvania  plan  of  state  work,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  primarily  a  mission  to  young  men 
and  to  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations. 
The  success  of  this  work  depends  in  the  main 

198 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

upon  the  vigor,  organization,  and  methods  of 
individual  associations.  The  chief  aim  of  the 
Pennsylvania  committee  and  its  state  secretary 
is  to  bring  the  local  associations  up  to  the  highest 
point  of  efficiency,  and  enable  them  to  go  for- 
ward in  continuous,  aggressive  effort  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  days  in  the  year/' 

McBurney  then  went  on  to  show  how  the  Penn- 
sylvania associations  had  increased  in  the  num- 
ber of  general  secretaries,  in  the  efficiency  of 
their  work,  and  in  the  property  which  they  had 
acquired.    He  continues  the  comparison  further: 

"The  New  England  state  committees  claim 
that  the  general  evangelistic  method  will  open 
the  way  so  that  ultimately  the  work  for  young 
men  will  be  greatly  strengthened  and  helped. 
This  practical  result  has  not  been  obtained. 
The  associations  of  these  states  are  no  stronger 
than  when  the  state  committees  began  their 
labors.  There  are  not  so  many  associations 
existing  in  these  states  as  there  were  several 
years  ago.  There  has  also  been  in  New  England 
a  falling  off  instead  of  an  increase  in  the  number 
of  general  secretaries.  If  the  work  for  young 
men  is  really  making  genuine  advance  upon  the 
tidal  wave  of  evangelistic  effort,  which  has  been 
kept  in  motion  the  past  five  years  by  the  evan- 
gelistic state  committees  in  New  England,  it  is 
certainly  singular  that  the  individual  associa- 
tions have  not  sought  and  found  general  secre- 
taries for  their  local  home  work. 

"  We  have  instituted  this  comparison  that  we 
might  discover  what  is  the  practical  outcome  of 
the  different  methods  in  the  sections  compared. 
No  other  inference  is  open  to  us  from  the  facts 

199 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

presented  but  that  we  should  emphasize  and 
multiply  in  our  work  the  agencies  seeking  the 
benefit  of  young  men.  The  more  exclusively 
and  energetically  we  give  ourselves  to  this  work, 
the  more  shall  we  secure  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  ourselves  as  laborers  together  with  him, 
and  upon  the  young  men  whose  salvation  we 
seek,  and  upon  the  churches  whose  messengers 
we  are." 

One  incident  connected  with  this  discussion 
occurred  at  a  secretarial  conference  in  1875, 
when  an  evangelistic  state  secretary  had  been 
giving  a  report  of  the  revivals  which  followed 
his  visits.  McBurney  asked  him  how  many 
places  he  had  visited  during  the  year.  He 
replied,  "Sixty,  seventy,  or  eighty."  "  Did  you 
visit  the  associations  in  these  towns?"  asked 
McBurney.  "  Seldom,"  was  the  reply.  "  I 
scarcely  remember  being  in  one  of  the  associa- 
tion rooms."  McBurney  then  asked:  "Now,  if 
a  man  loved  a  girl,  and  had  visited  the  town  in 
which  she  lived  seventy  or  eighty  times  without 
going  to  see  her,  what  would  you  think  of  that 
manr 

The  paper  read  by  McBurney  in  New  York 
was  carefully  read  by  the  leaders  in  New  Eng- 
land, and  in  1879,  at  a  conference  held  in  Provi- 
dence, to  which  McBurney  as  well  as  Mr.  Morse 
were  invited,  a  state  secretary  was  called  by  the 
Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  state  commit- 
tee, with  instructions  to  devote  himself  chiefly  to 
association  work.  In  1882  the  Chicago  associa- 
tion modified  its  constitution  so  as  to  make  the 
object  of  its  work  especially  for  young  men. 

During  these  years  McBurney  gave  himself 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

heart  and  soul  to  the  development  of  the  asso- 
ciation cause  throughout  the  country.  He 
visited  state  conventions,  corresponded  with 
leading  workers  all  over  this  country  and  in 
other  lands,  and  at  the  international  conven- 
tions was  always  alert  for  what  he  considered 
the  good  of  the  cause.  At  the  convention  held 
in  Toronto  in  1877,  he  met  what  he  considered 
a  serious  defeat.  Looking  at  it  calmly  from 
this  distance  of  time,  one  is  inclined  to  feel  that 
McBurney  was  in  the  wrong.  The  issue  at  the 
convention  was  over  the  question  of  whether 
the  committee  for  nominating  permanent  offi- 
cers, which  consisted  of  a  delegate  from  each 
state  or  province,  should  be  appointed,  as  had 
been  the  custom,  by  the  retiring  president,  or 
nominated  by  the  different  delegations  and 
elected  by  the  convention.  McBurney  felt  that 
those  advocating  this  change  sought  to  wrest 
the  control  of  the  convention  and  the  policy  of 
the  association  from  those  who  had  so  long 
guided  it.  He  believed  particularly  that  certain 
leaders  in  the  West  wished  to  introduce  rev- 
olutionary changes,  and  so  he  opposed  this  plan 
strongly.  It  is  true  that  the  new  plan  was 
pretty  largely  advocated  by  the  representatives 
of  what  might  be  spoken  of  as  the  evangelistic 
element  in  the  association — those  who  wished 
to  make  the  association  a  general  evangelistic 
agency  for  all  classes. 

Immediately  after  the  Toronto  convention 
was  called  to  order,  and  the  usual  resolution 
had  been  introduced,  authorizing  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  to  nominate  permanent 
officers    for  the   convention,   a    resolution    was 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

offered,  "That  this  committee  be  nominated 
by  the  different  states  and  provinces  represent- 
ed." This  new  plan  was  strongly  urged  by  Dr. 
L.  W.  Munhall  of  Indianapolis.  McBurney 
saw  that  the  convention  sympathized  with  the 
proposition,  and  so  took  the  position  that  if  this 
plan  was  to  be  adopted,  it  ought  to  be  made  to 
apply  to  future  conventions  and  not  to  the  pres- 
ent one.  In  opposing  it  he  said:*  "  We  have  been 
associated  in  this  work  for  twenty  years,  and  I 
deprecate  any  hasty  action  this  morning  touch- 
ing this  matter.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  force 
in  what  Mr.  Munhall  has  said ;  I  recognize  that 
fact.  If  it  is  desirable  that  a  change  should  be 
made  in  the  method  we  have  invariably  pursued 
since  the  beginning  of  these  conventions,  let  it 
be  made.     But,  sir,  I  think  this  is  neither  the 

place  nor  the  time  to  make  it When  we 

come  to  business  regularly  and  calmly  to-morrow 
or  next  day,  we  shall  consider  what  is  the  best 
plan,  and  if  after  hearing  all  sides  carefully,  we 
should  decide  that  hereafter  the  state  conven- 
tions should  make  the  nominations,  I  for  one 
should  say  amen ;  but  this  morning  I  think  it 
would  be  unwise  for  us  to  change,  without  long 
and  more  careful  consideration,  a  plan  which  we 
have  pursued  steadily  for  twenty  years.  Now, 
brethren,  let  us  weigh  the  matter.  I  hope  that 
those  of  you  who  know  me  know  that  I  seek  to 
speak  this  morning  in  the  interest  of  our  entire 
cause." 

Several  addresses  for  and  against  the  new 
plan  followed  these  remarks,  but  finally  a 
resolution  was  passed  to  organize  as  usual,  and 

♦Report  Toronto  convention,  page  29. 
202 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

to  make  the  plan  of  organization  of  future  con- 
ventions the  special  order  for  consideration  on 
the  following  Friday  morning  at  n  o'clock. 
When  the  question  came  up  for  final  considera- 
tion, Dr.  Munhall  made  an  extended  address, 
advocating  the  change.  A  number  of  speeches 
were  made  on  both  sides,  and  finally  Mr.  Dem- 
ing  of  Boston  rose  to  move  the  previous  question. 
Before  it  was  seconded  McBurney  secured  the 
floor,  but  cries  for  the  question  prevented  his 
being  heard,  and  the  president  ruled  him  out  of 
order.  An  appeal  was  made  from  this  decision, 
but  the  chair  was  sustained.  The  previous  ques- 
tion was  seconded,  and  the  motion  to  inaugurate 
the  new  plan  for  appointing  a  nominating  com- 
mittee was  adopted.  At  the  next  session  the 
chair  apologized  for  having  refused  to  give  Mc- 
Burney the  floor,  and  stated  that  he  was  not  out 
of  order,  but  was  entitled  to  speak. 

Another  resolution  which  was  presented,  but 
defeated,  proposed  to  change  the  test  of  mem- 
bership by  substituting  the  word  "persons"  for 
the  words  "young  men"  in  the  test  for  active 
membership,  thus  admitting  women  to  member- 
ship. 

When  the  next  convention  was  to  assemble, 
McBurney  felt  the  necessity  of  rallying  all  the 
older  members  of  the  international  committee 
to  attend.  One  of  his  letters  to  a  member  of 
the  committee  shows  how  strongly  he  felt  the  im- 
portance of  the  committee's  asserting  itself.  On 
May  twenty-ninth,  1877,  he  wrote  as  follows:  "  I 
am  not  an  alarmist,  yet  I  must  say  very  frankly 
that  the  Louisville  prospect  is  most  discouraging 
indeed.     There  will  be  few  of  the  old  men  at 

203 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBumey 

Louisville  whose  words  carried  weight  with  the 
delegates  of  days  now  gone.  We  met  with  a 
most  disastrous  defeat  at  Toronto.  You  were 
unfortunately  not  present,  and  never  seemed 
to  realize  the  injurious  influences  which  there 
gained  control.  There  is  now  a  decided  oppo- 
sition, organized,  aggressive,  and  for  a  most 
clearly  defined  object.  This  opposition  relies 
for  success  on  wire-pulling  for  the  nominating 
committee.  But  this  is  a  small  part  as  compared 
with  the  other  objects,  namely:  first,  the  com- 
mittees of  the  convention  will  have  the  shaping 
of  all  the  work  for  the  year;  second,  the  capture 
of  the  executive  committee  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  give  the  influence  and  increased  control  to 
views  differing  very  widely  from  those  thus  far 

presented  and  urged I  have  no  desire  to 

go  to  Louisville  to  be  captured,  or  see  the  cause 
captured,  without  a  reasonable  opposition.  It 
will  be  too  bad  to  see  the  work  of  ten  years 
wiped  out,  at  least  so  far  as  the  future  is  con- 
cerned, in  a  day.  If  the  opposition  were  merely 
personal,  I  should  not  feel  so  deeply,  but  it  strikes 
boldly  at  the  very  foundation  upon  which  the 
association  is  built — that  young  men  are  the  best 
laborers  for  young  men,  and  that  as  they  are 
specially  tempted,  therefore  they  must  have  spe- 
cial labor  put  forth  in  their  behalf.  We  cannot 
stand  before  the  church  on  any  other  basis  in 
my  opinion."  McBurney's  fears,  however,  were 
not  realized.  Before  many  years  the  opposition 
just  described  entirely  vanished. 

In  1879,  when  the  policy  of  the  associations 
had  become  practically  fixed,  Mr.  Moody,  as 
the  world's  famous  evangelist,  was  invited   to 

204 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

serve  as  president  of  the  international  con- 
vention held  at  Baltimore  in  that  year.  In 
this  connection  a  secretaries'  conference  was 
held,  at  which  Mr.  Moody  said:  "It  is  not  the 
work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion to  invite  evangelists.  Let  ministers  and 
churches  do  that.  If  there  are  ten  churches  in 
a  city,  and  they  will  not  unite  in  an  invitation  to 
an  evangelist,  let  it  alone.  The  evangelist  ought 
not  to  go,  nor  should  the  association  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  it.  The  work  of  the  secretary 
is  too  important  tor  him  to  engage  in  anything 
but  his  distinctive  work  of  reaching  young  men. 

"  I  would  recommend  a  gymnasium,  classes, 
medical  lectures,  social  receptions,  music,  and  all 
unobjectionable  agencies.  These  are  for  week- 
days— we  do  not  want  simply  evangelistic  meet- 
ings. I  have  tried  that  system  in  association 
work  and  failed,  so  I  gave  up  the  secretaryship 
and  became  an  evangelist.  You  cannot  do  both 
and  succeed." 

The  decade  from  1870  to  1880  practically 
settled  the  policy  of  the  association. 

This  concentration  upon  work  for  young  men 
was  the  fundamental  source  of  the  rapid  expan- 
sion during  the  years  from  1880  to  the  present 
time,  and  the  adaptation  of  the  association  to 
railroad  men,  college  students,  and  other  classes 
of  young  men.  McBurney  remarked,  in  1878, 
"  Of  late  years  not  only  special  work  for  young 
men  has  received  attention,  but  distinctive  effort 
has  been  put  forth  in  behalf  of  special  classes 
of  young  men."  McBurney  was  among  the  first, 
but  not  the  first,  to  be  interested  in  work  among 
railroad  men.     In  1873  he  did  not  favor  giving 

205 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

this  work,  which  had  been  begun  but  a  year 
previously,  by  the  Cleveland  association,  a  topic 
at  the  international  convention,  but  in  1874, 
with  his  hearty  approval  this  work  was  given  a 
place  on  the  convention's  program.  With  others 
he  was  earnest  in  enlisting  the  interest  of  Cor- 
nelius Vanderbilt  in  this  work. 

In  1876  Mr.  Luther  D.  Wishard,  an  under- 
graduate of  Princeton,  wrote  McBurney  as  to 
the  feasibility  of  enlarging  the  work  of  the 
religious  society  among  the  students  of  that 
university,  into  a  student  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association.  A  number  of  student  associa- 
tions were  already  in  existence,  and  McBurney 
strongly  urged  this  course.  McBurney  was  one 
of  six  members  of  the  international  committee 
present  at  the  international  convention,  held  at 
Louisville  one  year  later,  1877,  at  which  it  was 
decided  to  inaugurate  work  among  students  as 
a  department  of  the  international  committee's 
service,  and  to  secure  a  traveling  secretary. 
Both  McBurney  and  Mr.  Wishard  attended  the 
state  convention  of  Indiana  a  few  weeks  later. 
Mr.  Wishard  says:*  "  I  had  been  nominated  by 
the  college  conference  at  the  Louisville  conven- 
tion to  serve  as  college  secretary  of  the  inter- 
national committee.  McBurney  asked  me  what 
my  plan  was  for  the  extension  of  the  college 
movement.  I  told  him.  He  entered  heartily 
into  it,  and  agreed  on  his  return  to  New  York 
to  lay  the  matter  before  the  committee.  He 
did  so,  and  the  result  was  that  I  was  called  to 
the  college  secretaryship  in  September.  I  shall 
always  feel  that  his  influence  in  that  matter  was 

♦McBurney  Memorial,  page  97. 
206 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

more  potent  than  that  of  anybody  else,  and  that 
he  therefore  exerted  a  determining  influence 
upon  the  course  of  my  life  work." 

McBurney  was  also  deeply  interested  in  the 
conferences  at  Northfield,  and  frequently  at- 
tended them.  Mr.  Morse  says:  "  From  the 
beginning,  McBurney  sympathized  heartily  with 
the  college  movement,  and  was  the  wise  coun- 
selor of  Mr.  Wishard.  His  influence  in  the 
international  committee  was  of  great  service  to 
this  department,  and  also  to  the  colored,  Indian, 
German,  commercial  travelers',  physical,  and 
educational  departments." 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  Mc- 
Burney's  part  in  restoring  relations  between  the 
Northern  and  Southern  associations  after  the 
Civil  War.  This  work  began  at  a  time  when  a 
large  per  cent  of  the  support  of  the  international 
committee  was  dependent  on  his  solicitation. 
It  was  due  to  his  efforts  chiefly  that  money  for 
the  Southern  tours  in  the  early  seventies  was 
secured. 

With  the  location  of  the  international  com- 
mittee in  New  York,  McBurney  came  to  feel 
deeply  the  burden  of  the  financial  side  of  the 
committee's  work.  He  saw  clearly  that  if  the 
supervisory  agencies  of  the  association  were  to 
prosper,  they  would  require  adequate  means 
just  as  surely  as  the  local  city  work.  Although 
with  the  other  leaders  he  was  absorbed  in  New 
York  with  a  building  canvass,  and  in  the  efforts 
to  secure  local  expenses,  for  several  years  he 
bore  the  largest  share  in  raising  funds  for  the 
general  work.     It  became  evident  to  him,  how- 


207 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

ever,  that  some  other  plan  would  be  necessary 
if  the  work  was  to  develop. 

During  the  business  depression  which  fol- 
lowed 1873, the  committee's  finances  were  at  low 
ebb.  M.  Weidensall  says:  "At  the  Dayton  con- 
vention, 1874,  the  international  committee  was 
not  paying  us  anything,  and  at  the  convention  a 
very  small  amount  was  raised.  I  saw  McBur- 
ney sitting  at  one  side  and  crying  outright.  I 
asked  him  what  was  the  matter.  He  said, 
'  There  is  so  little  money  for  this  work.'  I  told 
him  he  need  not  be  concerned  about  it,  that  we 
would  go  on,  salary  or  no  salary,  but  he  was 
very  much  depressed  by  the  small  amount  of 
money  raised.  It  was  under  this  pressure  that 
Mr.  Morse  became  responsible  for  the  com- 
mittee's finances."  The  budget  at  this  time 
was  about  $7,500  a  year. 

McBurney  was  broad  minded,  his  spirit  and 
sympathy  were  catholic,  he  delighted  in  the 
development  and  adaptation  of  the  association 
to  manifold  phases  of  work.  He  brought  to 
the  sessions  of  the  international  committee  the 
counsel  and  suggestions  of  a  wise  and  expe- 
rienced local  secretary.  He  always  kept  in 
touch  with  the  sentiment  through  the  country. 
His  constant  attendance  upon  state  and  inter- 
national conventions  and  the  general  secre- 
taries' conferences  gave  his  counsel  intelligence 
and  weight  in  these  deliberations,  and  he  was 
heard  and  trusted  at  the  international  conven- 
tions as  the  surest  guide  when  important  ques- 
tions were  under  consideration. 

With  regard  to  the  relations  of  the  state 
and    international     supervisory    agencies,    Mc- 

208 


Evangelical  and  Evangelistic  Controversies 

Burney  believed  in  the  policy  of  comity  which 
characterized  this  relationship  during  his  long 
career.  In  writing,  in  March,  1889,  to  a  friend, 
he  says:  "Since  the  international  work  is 
ordered  by  associations  in  convention  assembled, 
and  not  by  states  or  state  organizations,  the 
relation  between  the  associations  and  the  inter- 
national work  is  a  direct  relation. 

"The  international  work  brought  into  life 
the  state  organizations,  and  the  international 
convention  has  never  recognized  any  inter- 
mediary between  it  and  the  local  associations. 
This  has  ever  been  a  fundamental  principle  in 
the  association  scheme  in  this  country.  .  .  .  The 
relation  of  the  international  and  of  the  state 
conventions,  and  of  the  international  and  state 
committees,  is  by  no  means  mandatory  ;  it  is 
advisory,  and  that  only.  It  is  desirable  that  the 
most  cordial  relation  should  subsist  between  the 
local  association  and  the  state  convention  and 
state  committee,  and  the  international  conven- 
tion and  the  international  committee.  Nothing 
approaching  a  dictatorial  attitude  should  be 
assumed  by  any  of  the  parties." 

In  comparing  his  service  in  the  New  York  City 
association  and  his  service  in  the  association 
cause  at  large,  one  cannot  but  feel  that  in  his 
heart  and  thought  the  work  was  one.  True,  he 
was  officially  the  secretary  of  the  New  York 
society.  He  was  always  faithful  in  the  per- 
formance of  the  obligations  which  this  entailed. 
But  he  was  equally  the  secretary  at  large  for 
the  associations  of  the  continent,  and  he  faith- 
fully performed  this  unsalaried  service.  In  the 
New    York    secretaryship    he    discovered    the 

209 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

needs  of  young  men  and  the  methods  by  which 
these  needs  might  be  supplied.  It  was  in  the 
metropolitan  field  that  his  ideals  of  work  for 
young  men  were  developed.  These  ideals  and 
convictions  he  advocated  and  fostered  among 
the  associations  throughout  the  country.  For 
the  New  York  association,  his  service  was  super- 
visory and  executive  ;  for  the  international  work 
it  was  consultative  and  advisory.  He  saw 
clearly  the  relationships  between  different  de- 
partments of  the  association  ;  he  recognized  the 
pre-eminence  of  the  city  work.  He  also  tact- 
fully fostered  harmonious  relations  between 
different  sections  of  the  country,  and  was  con- 
siderate of  the  position  and  recognition  due  the 
Canadian  associations.  He  stood  for  the  unity 
of  the  international  work  upon  this  continent. 


2IO 


CHAPTER  III 

McBURNEY'S  RELATION  TO  THE  YOUNG 
MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION  IN 
OTHER  LANDS— IN  EUROPE— IN  FOR- 
EIGN   MISSION    LANDS 

Intercommunication  is  characteristic  of  this 
cosmopolitan  age.  Formerly  political,  linguistic, 
or  race  barriers  were  enough  to  isolate  religious 
movements,  but  the  past  century  has  witnessed 
a  multiplication  of  ties  binding  different  sections 
of  the  world  together.  The  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  has  been  one  of  the 
earliest  and  most  influential  of  these  agencies. 
By  its  world  conventions,  its  common  platform, 
its  uniformity  of  aim,  its  publications,  and  its 
intervisitation,  it  has  united  into  one  organiza- 
tion Christian  young  men  of  every  evangelical 
creed  in  fifty  different  nations,  speaking  many 
different  languages. 

McBurney  was  deeply  interested  in  the  work 
in  Europe,  and  also  in  the  unevangelized  lands. 
He  exerted  himself  definitely  to  foster  the  asso- 
ciation in  both  of  these  directions.  In  these 
efforts,  he  co-operated  with  Mr.  Morse,  and 
together  they  carried  the  type  of  association 
work  which  had  developed  in  America  to  Eng- 
land, Continental  Europe,  and  other  lands. 

McBurney's  first  world  convention  was  at 
Amsterdam,  in  1872.  He  was  not  present  at 
Hamburg  in  1875,  Dut  attended  the  six  world's 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

gatherings  during  the  succeeding  eighteen  years 
— twice  at  London,  and  one  each  at  Geneva, 
Berlin,  Stockholm,  and  Amsterdam.  In  1898 
the  only  cable  message  sent  by  the  conference 
assembled  at  Basle  was  an  expression  of  sym- 
pathy and  regard,  forwarded  to  McBurney's 
bedside  during  his  last  sickness. 

When  McBurney  entered  the  arena  of  Euro- 
pean association  affairs,  the  world's  conferences 
had  been  for  many  years,  in  effect,  administered 
from  London  —  the  parent  association.  Sir 
George  Williams,  the  founder  of  the  association 
movement,  and  William  E.  Shipton,  the  veteran 
secretary  of  the  central  association,  were  the 
leading  figures  in  the  British  work.  On  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe,  the  prominent  men  were  Rev. 
Paul  Cook  of  Paris,  Max  Perrot  of  Switzerland, 
and  Dr.  Krummacher  and  Anton  Haasen  of 
Elberfeld,  Germany.  None  of  the  continental 
countries  had  a  national  organization.  The 
Franco-Prussian  War  was  just  at  an  end,  and  the 
hostility  between  Germany  and  France  was  still 
bitter.  What  general  administration  of  associa- 
tion affairs  there  was  in  Europe  had  fallen  by 
mutual  consent  to  the  London  association,  and 
the  secretary  of  this  association,  Mr.  Shipton, 
conducted  correspondence,  published  general 
reports,  and  arranged  for  the  triennial  conven- 
tions. In  England  there  was  a  crude  form  of 
national  organization  by  which  the  various  asso- 
ciations were  regarded  as  provincial  branches 
of  the  parent  society  in  London.  This  made 
Mr.  Shipton  national  secretary  for  England. 
He  practically  combined  the  offices  of  world's 
secretary,  national  secretary,  and  local  secretary 


Toung  Mens  Christian  Association* 

in  one.  Mr.  Shipton  was  a  man  of  fine  pres- 
ence, good  education,  marked  platform  ability, 
and  of  great  energy  and  intensity  of  purpose. 
He  became  secretary  of  the  London  association 
in  1850,  twelve  years  before  McBurney  entered 
the  New  York  work.  He  early  grasped  the  idea 
of  the  specific  mission  of  the  association  to  young 
men,  and  the  London  association  has  never 
wavered  in  its  devotion  to  the  true  work  of  the 
organization.  His  ideas  of  the  secretaryship 
were  different  in  some  respect  from  those  of 
McBurney,  and  he  was  led  a  number  of  times  to 
take  opposite  views  from  the  representatives 
of  the  American  associations,  but  he  and  McBur- 
ney were  warm  friends  from  their  first  acquaint- 
ance, and  remained  so  through  life. 

Mr.  Morse  and  McBurney  were  both  in 
Europe  in  the  summer  of  1872  on  separate  and 
private  errands.  McBurney  was  much  in  need 
of  rest,  and  a  purse  had  been  made  up  voluntarily 
by  Mr.  Dodge  and  Mr.  Jesup  to  enable  him  to  go 
abroad.  He  and  Mr.  Morse  arranged  to  meet 
at  the  Amsterdam  convention.  They  went  to 
their  first  world's  conference  practically  ignorant 
as  to  European  association  affairs,  and  they  had 
no  hand  in  shaping  matters  on  that  occasion, 
but  their  eyes  were  opened  to  relationships  as 
they  really  existed,  and  to  the  place  of  impor- 
tance to  which  the  American  work  was  entitled. 
As  Mr.  Morse  expressed  it,  "  We  discovered 
that  the  European  associations  were  utterly 
behind  us — wholly  in  the  rear.  We  saw  that 
we  represented  the  largest  and  strongest  group 
of  associations  in  the  whole  assemblage,  and  that 


213 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

they  were  not  adequately  brought  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  meeting." 

Mr.  Shipton  was  in  practical  control  of  the 
conference,  and  was  not  very  friendly  either  to 
the  American  ideas  of  association  work  or  to 
having  America  strongly  represented.  No  paper 
had  been  assigned  to  the  American  group  of 
associations.  In  this  sentiment  Mr.  Shipton  did 
not  represent  the  British  delegates.  There 
were  men  of  other  minds  from  the  north  of  Eng- 
land, and  it  was  also  evident  that  they  were 
somewhat  restless  under  the  London  secretary's 
control.  The  delegates  from  all  countries  were 
anxious  to  learn  everything  they  could  about 
the  American  work.  The  English  delegates  in 
particular  held  several  conferences  with  McBur- 
ney and  Mr.  Morse,  and  learned  with  interest  of 
the  larger  work  in  America. 

At  this  convention,  McBurney  obtained  from 
Mr.  Shipton  his  conversational  method  of  Bible 
class  teaching.  The  European  delegates  were 
surprised  that  the  Americans  did  not  put  more 
emphasis  on  Bible  study.  The  Americans  on 
their  part  were  surprised  to  find  an  absence  of 
the  men's  gospel  meeting,  without  which  they 
could  not  conceive  of  association  work.  McBur- 
ney induced  Mr.  Morse  to  lead  an  American 
prayer-meeting  as  an  object  lesson,  but  under 
the  influence  of  the  Bible  class  idea,  some  of 
those  present  created  an  argument  in  the 
prayer-meeting  which  quite  destroyed  its  effect. 

On  this  visit,  and  particularly  at  the  conven- 
tion, McBurney  became  acquainted  with  Sir 
George  Williams.  A  most  intimate  friendship 
and  respect  sprang  up  between  these  two  men. 

214 


Toung  Mens-  Christian  Associations 

Mr.  Williams,  who  had  come  as  a  farmer's  boy 
to  the  great  city  to  enter  business  life,  had  risen 
to  affluence,  but  had  never  lost  the  deep  spirit- 
ual zeal  which  had  led  him,  as  a  dry  goods  clerk, 
to  inaugurate  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation. He  had  never  lost  his  interest  in  the 
movement,  and  had  always  made  its  prosperity 
his  constant  care.  He  labored  unceasingly  for 
its  advancement,  and  as  his  wealth  increased,  he 
gave  unsparingly  to  its  development.  As  Mc- 
Burney  stands  pre-eminent  among  the  employed 
officers  of  the  association,  so  George  Williams, 
the  founder  of  the  association,  is  its  most  emi- 
nent volunteer  worker.  In  zeal  for  personal 
work  and  love  for  young  men,  these  two  were 
akin.  Williams,  like  H.  Thane  Miller,  had 
great  skill  with  an  audience,  and  was  an  inspir- 
ing convention  chairman.  He  had  a  popular 
way  which  took  with  the  masses ;  he  was  emo- 
tional and  most  direct.  He  had  a  deep  prayer 
life,  and  a  simple,  earnest,  loving  heart.  He 
was  alert,  enterprising,  and  tireless.  Without 
prejudice,  he  was  willing  to  adopt  new  plans 
from  any  quarter.  He  had  McBurney's  interest 
in  the  individual,  but  not  his  foresight  for  the 
organization.  Each  man  recognized  the  other's 
worth,  and  they  labored  side  by  side. 

Previous  to  the  Amsterdam  convention,  Mr. 
Shipton,  with  whom  the  New  York  association 
had  been  in  frequent  correspondence,  had  rep- 
resented the  Americans  at  the  conventions  ;  but 
after  observing  the  convention  at  Amsterdam, 
Mr.  Morse  was  unwilling  to  have  the  London 
secretary  longer  remain  the  only  channel  through 
which     America    should    be    represented.       At 

215 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

Amsterdam  each  paper  was  presented  in  the 
language  of  the  reader,  and  afterwards  in- 
adequately summarized  by  an  interpreter. 
When  the  delegates  returned  to  New  York  and 
related  in  the  sessions  of  the  international  com- 
mittee what  they  had  seen,  Mr.  Brainerd  said, 
"  At  the  next  conference  we  must  have  an 
American  paper,  on  the  American  association 
work,  and  it  must  be  printed  and  translated  into 
the  languages  of  the  conference,  with  sufficient 
copies  for  distribution."  This  inaugurated  a 
new  practice  at  the  world's  conference.  In  1875 
two  papers  were  prepared  at  the  New  York 
office,  and  translated  into  French,  German,  and 
Dutch.  Several  hundred  copies  were  printed 
in  each  language  and  taken  to  Hamburg  where 
the  convention  was  to  be  held.  There  was  also 
an  assortment  of  American  association  pub- 
lications, put  together  by  Mr.  Morse,  and  a 
year  book  for  each  delegate.  McBurney  did 
not  attend  this  convention,  America  being  rep- 
resented by  Mr.  Morse  and  Mr.  William  F.  Lee. 
For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  confer- 
ences each  delegate  was  able  to  follow  the 
speaker  in  his  own  language,  with  the  result 
that  a  desire  for  discussion  was  created.  The 
printed  matter  brought  by  the  Americans  was 
sought  and  carried  wherever  the  association 
work  had  been  developed.  For  the  first  time, 
the  European  associations  learned  that  the 
American  work  was  greater  and  more  influential 
than  that  in  any  other  land. 

This  opened  the  way  to  the  developments  at 
the  succeeding  conference  at  Geneva,  in  1878, 
when  the  American  influence  was  an  important 

216 


Toung  Men  s  Christian  Associations 

and  guiding  factor.  When  the  time  arrived  for 
the  Geneva  conference,  a  party  of  forty  Ameri- 
can association  leaders  prepared  to  attend.  At 
this  convention  not  only  the  American  paper 
but  a  number  of  others  from  England  and 
France  were  printed  and  translated  into  the 
languages  of  the  conference.  One  of  these,  by 
a  French  delegate,  was  on  "  International  Ties," 
in  which  the  establishment  of  a  central  perma- 
nent committee  was  advocated.  It  was  held 
that  the  conference  was  too  loosely  organized 
and  administered.  The  ideas  of  the  writer  were 
apparently  suggested  by  the  American  reports 
submitted  at  the  previous  conference,  and  it 
was  proposed  to  adopt  some  plan  of  organiza- 
tion similar  to  the  American  international  com- 
mittee, the  only  one  then  in  existence.  The 
plan,  however,  was  an  impossible  one,  as  it  pro- 
posed a  central  body  which  should  be  author- 
itative. No  central  supervising  agency  in  the 
association  could  exist  unless  it  recognized  the 
independence  of  the  local  association.  The 
Americans  were  keenly  alive  to  this  necessity, 
drawn  from  twenty-five  years  of  experience. 

It  happened  that  the  delegates  were  invited 
to  hold  one  session  of  the  conference  at  the 
country-seat  of  Adolphe  Perrot.  A  storm  aris- 
ing, instead  of  holding  the  session  in  the  open 
air,  the  delegates  were  crowded  into  the  differ- 
ent rooms  of  the  residence.  McBurney  was  in 
one  room  with  a  group  of  the  delegates,  and 
Mr.  Morse  in  another  with  a  second  group. 
The  topic  for  discussion  was  a  central  organi- 
zation. The  two  friends  did  not  meet  until 
nearly  midnight  at  the  hotel,  when  they  were 

217 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

interested  to  find  that  they  had  both  independ- 
ently worked  out  almost  identical  plans  for  a 
world's  organization,  after  the  model  of  the 
American  international  committee.  The  scheme 
involved  the  choosing  of  a  world's  committee 
with  permanent  headquarters,  which  should  not 
be  in  England,  but  upon  the  continent  of 
Europe,  and  which  should  have  general  super- 
vision over  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
in  all  lands,  both  in  the  Old  World  and  the  New. 
The  sentiment  of  the  conference  was  strongly 
against  a  world's  committee  located  in  England, 
yet  it  could  not  be  located  either  in  France  or 
Germany  on  account  of  the  political  hostility 
growing  out  of  the  recent  war,  and  location  in 
America  would  have  been  unsatisfactory  to  all. 
It  was  therefore  proposed  that  the  administra- 
tion should  have  its  headquarters  at  Geneva, 
Switzerland. 

A  number  of  the  British  delegates,  led  by 
Mr.  Shipton,  were  strenuously  opposed  both  to 
the  suggested  change  in  headquarters  and  or- 
ganization. Mr.  Shipton  took  the  floor  and 
spoke  against  the  proposition.  McBurney  was 
greatly  stirred  on  this  occasion,  so  much  so  that 
he  did  not  trust  himself  to  reply,  but  persuaded 
Mr.  Morse  to  advocate  the  proposed  change. 
Not  all  of  the  English  delegation  stood  with 
Mr.  Shipton.  The  majority  followed  George 
Williams,  who  spoke  in  favor  of  organizing  the 
world's  work  on  the  new  basis.  The  plan  was 
carried  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  A  world's 
committee  was  chosen  with  a  quorum  at  Geneva, 
and  representatives  for  each  of  the  leading  na- 
tions in  the  association  movement.     The  com- 

218 


Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 

mittee  was  inexperienced,  and  leaned  much 
upon  the  Americans  for  advice  and  guidance. 
McBurney  and  Mr.  Morse  saw  clearly  that  un- 
less the  proposed  committee  could  have  a  prop- 
erly qualified  executive  secretary  to  devote  his 
whole  time  to  its  service,  it  would  amount  to 
little.  A  providential  candidate  appeared  in 
the  person  of  M.  Charles  Fermaud  of  Geneva, 
whom  the  conference  had  chosen  to  preside 
over  its  deliberations.  He  was  a  talented  young 
man  engaged  in  the  banking  business,  of  ear- 
nest spiritual  life  and  exemplary  habits.  He 
spoke  the  three  languages  of  the  conference 
with  fluency,  and  was  most  active  in  his  interest 
in  the  association  cause.  Mr.  Morse  and  Mc- 
Burney agreed  upon  him  as  the  man  for  the  new 
service,  and  labored  with  all  their  zeal  to  induce 
an  acceptance  on  his  part.  Finally,  at  a  small 
conference,  at  which  McBurney,  Morse,  George 
Williams,  and  Russell  Sturgis  of  Boston,  were 
present,  it  was  agreed  that  if  M.  Fermaud  was 
willing  to  accept  as  secretary,  and  would  begin 
work  January  i,  1879,  George  Williams  would 
pledge  £100  a  year  for  England,  and  Mc- 
Burney and  Mr.  Morse  would  be  responsible 
for  $500  from  America.  They  also  extended 
an  invitation  to  M.  Fermaud  to  make  a  tour 
of  the  American  associations,  and  to  be  pres- 
ent at  the  American  convention  which  was  to 
be  held  at  Baltimore  in  the  summer  of  1879. 
Later  M.  Fermaud  accepted  the  arduous  service 
to  which  he  was  invited.  Everything  possible 
was  done  by  both  Mr.  Morse  and  McBurney  to 
make  M.  Fermaud's  visit  to  America  both  profit- 
able and  pleasant.     It  was  largely  through  this 

219 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

visit  that  M.  Fermaud  gained  a  knowledge  of 
the  modern  ideal  of  association  work.  At  this 
time  there  was  not  a  general  secretary  employed 
upon  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  his  contact 
with  McBurney,  and  study  of  the  work  in  the 
building  on  Twenty-third  Street  in  New  York 
City,  proved  a  moulding  influence  in  his  career. 

The  conference  of  1881  met  in  London.  At 
this  conference,  McBurney  introduced  into  the 
world's  gathering  the  program  of  procedure 
which  he  had  originated  for  the  American  con- 
vention fifteen  years  before,  and  which  in  that 
connection  was  called  the  "backbone  of  the 
convention."  When  the  report  of  the  Geneva 
committee  was  presented  at  London,  at  McBur- 
ney's  suggestion  it  was  referred  to  a  special 
committee  for  consideration.  This  special  com- 
mittee was  instructed  to  study  the  report,  and 
recommend  to  the  convention  a  course  of  action 
based  upon  it  for  the  coming  three  years.  This 
became  a  standing  committee  of  the  convention, 
and  McBurney  became  the  constant  and  leading 
member  of  it.  His  presence  upon  this  commit- 
tee, with  his  superior  knowledge  and  experience 
of  active  association  affairs,  gave  him  a  place 
of  practical  leadership  in  the  world's  work. 
From  the  nature  of  its  duties,  this  committee 
piloted  the  conference  in  its  action.  Mr.  Morse 
said:  "McBurney  gave  to  the  conference  its 
leading  executive  committee,  and  he  was  the 
brains  of  that  committee.  He  was  invaluable 
in  carrying  the  American  method  into  the  fiber 
of  the  world's  conference." 

What  McBurney  did  in  1881,  he  repeated  at 
Berlin  in  1884,  at  Stockholm  in  1888,  at  Amster- 


Toung  Men  s  Christian  Associations 

dam  in  1891,  and  at  London  in  1894.  In  these 
conferences  he  performed  the  same  function, 
and  they  more  and  more  approached  an  Ameri- 
can convention.  This  was  the  quiet,  controlling 
work  which  McBurney  enjoyed,  and  in  which 
he  showed  forth  his  masterful  spirit. 

One  of  the  results  of  the  London  conference 
in  1881  was  that  the  British  association  leaders 
came  to  feel  that  they  had  outgrown  the  parental 
form  of  organization  in  London,  which  did  not 
allow  the  local  associations  any  voice  in  the 
general  management.  The  north  of  England 
particularly  was  restless  under  this  control. 
George  Williams  was  anxious  for  some  solution. 
McBurney  suggested  to  him  as  a  way  out  that 
a  national  committee  be  formed  similar  to  the 
international  committee  in  America,  and  helped 
devise  a  plan.  Mr.  Williams  favored  this,  and 
such  a  committee  was  appointed. 

McBurney,  commenting  upon  the  world's 
work  in  1885,  said  in  a  report  to  the  New  York 
City  association:  "Decided  progress  has  been 
made  in  well-directed  efforts  for  young  men  by 
the  European  associations,  especially  in  Great 
Britain  and  Germany.  Persons  occupying  high 
social  positions  in  those  countries  are  now  en- 
gaged in  work  for  young  men,  with  unexampled 
activity.  This  is  due  in  some  measure  to  the 
fact  that  the  aggressive  spirit  of  socialism  has 
awakened  Christian  men  of  the  so-called  higher 
classes  to  a  sense  of  their  opportunity  and 
responsibility.  They  see  that  the  true  antidote 
to  an  infidel,  lawless  socialism  is  to  be  found  in 
a  Christian  socialism,  manifested  and  practiced 
by  the  following  of  the  example  of  Jesus  Christ 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

in  his  self-denying  ministry  to  men.  This  is  a 
very  hopeful  feature  in  our  European  work." 

McBurney's  last  attendance  at  a  world's  con- 
ference was  the  Jubilee  convention  at  London 
in  1894.  At  this  convention,  George  Williams 
was  knighted  by  the  Queen,  and  given  the  free- 
dom of  the  city  by  the  London  Council.  Mc- 
Burney was  honored  among  the  most  prominent 
American  guests  on  this  occasion. 

A  number  of  the  European  general  secre- 
taries visited  America  as  the  years  went  by, 
and  learned  much  from  McBurney  and  the  New 
York  work.  Carl  Fries,  the  secretary  at  Stock- 
holm, says,  "  I  owe  much  to  Robert  R.  McBur- 
ney for  his  personal  kindness  and  for  the 
valuable  instruction  in  association  work  which 
he  gave  me  during  my  never-to-be-forgotten  stay 
in  America."  Christian  Phildius,  for  many  years 
secretary  at  Berlin,  and  now  one  of  the  secre- 
taries of  the  world's  committee,  was  similarly 
influenced  by  McBurney. 

In  tracing  the  development  of  the  European 
work,  one  cannot  but  see  McBurney's  master, 
guiding  hand,  and  feel  the  potency  of  his  in- 
fluence. Mr.  Morse  says,  "His  service  to  the 
world's  conferences  was  parallel  to  the  service 
he  rendered  to  the  American  conventions;  he 
inserted  the  backbone  into  the  work." 

McBurney  was  not  only  interested  in  Europe 
but  he  also  stood  for  foreign  missionary  work 
for  young  men  on  the  part  of  the  American 
international  committee.  His  last  service  on  the 
international  committee  was  chiefly  devoted  to 
this  cause.  He  believed  in  it  thoroughly,  and 
he    entered    into    a   sympathetic    and     fatherly 


Toung  Mens  Christian  Associations 

relationship  with  the  secretaries  who  went  out 
into  foreign  lands.  He  was  a  pronounced  be- 
liever in  foreign  missions,  an  interest  which 
illustrates  the  catholicity  of  his  sympathy.  In 
connection  with  missionary  effort  in  foreign 
lands,  a  number  of  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociations, chiefly  in  mission  colleges,  had 
gradually  come  into  existence.  In  1887  there 
were  fifteen  associations  in  Ceylon,  six  in  India, 
five  in  China,  four  in  Japan,  eighteen  in  other 
parts  of  Asia,  and  twelve  in  Africa.  These  were 
chiefly  student  associations.  They  were  small, 
and  were  without  general  secretaries,  and  with 
the  exception  of  a  hall  belonging  to  the  associa- 
tion at  Osaka,  Japan,  without  property. 

A  strong  interest  in  general  foreign  missions 
had  been  awakened  among  the  college  students 
of  America  through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Wishard 
and  others.  This  was  seen  at  the  convention 
in  1879  at  Baltimore  in  the  interest  there  ex- 
pressed, and  in  the  organizing  of  missionary 
committees  on  the  part  of  students  to  study 
foreign  missions  and  secure  contributions.  This 
interest  culminated  in  the  student  conference  at 
Mount  Hermon  in  1886,  when  one  hundred 
students  volunteered  to  go  as  foreign  mission- 
aries if  the  way  should  be  opened. 

At  the  second  student  gathering  at  North- 
field  in  1887,  Rev.  Jacob  Chamberlain,  D.  D., 
who  was  in  this  country  on  a  furlough  from 
India,  was  present,  and  most  earnestly  contend- 
ed that  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 
were  needed  in  the  foreign  field,  and  that  the 
American  international  committee  ought  to  send 
out   general    secretaries   for   this  service.     Dr. 

223 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

Chamberlain  laid  this  matter  before  McBurney, 
and  deeply  aroused  his  sympathy.  At  the  same 
time,  news  came  of  opportunities  in  the  govern- 
ment schools  of  Japan  for  American  teachers, 
who  might  also  be  influential  in  missionary 
work.  McBurney  was  much  interested  in  this 
development,  and  encouraged  Mr.  John  T.  Swift, 
a  graduate  of  Yale,  who  had  been  his  assist- 
ant, to  go  to  Japan  as  a  teacher.  Mr.  Swift 
arrived  in  Japan  on  February  twentieth,  1888, 
with  an  appointment  as  corresponding  member 
of  the  American  international  committee.  He 
immediately  took  steps  to  study  the  character 
of  the  associations  then  existing  in  different 
parts  of  the  empire,  and  kept  McBurney  in- 
timately acquainted  with  his  progress.  He  was 
particularly  impressed  with  the  great  oppor- 
tunity at  Tokio  among  the  resident  young  men 
of  that  city,  and  among  the  large  number  of  stu- 
dents gathered  there  at  the  Imperial  University 
from  every  province  of  the  empire. 

In  the  mean  time,  Dr.  Chamberlain  had  urged 
the  foreign  work  upon  McBurney  and  other 
members  of  the  international  committee.  Mc- 
Burney said  to  Dr.  Chamberlain  that  it  would 
not  do  to  go  forward  without  first  consulting  the 
missionaries  and  the  secretaries  of  the  mission 
boards  of  the  various  churches.  Some  of  the 
committee  did  not  think  the  missionary  sec- 
retaries would  favor  the  plan,  and  were  unwill- 
ing to  involve  the  international  committee  in 
any  controversy.  It  was  accordingly  agreed 
that  Dr.  Chamberlain  should  return  to  India, 
and  first  arrange  for  an  appeal  to  be  sent  to  the 
American   international    committee    from    the 

224 


Young  Men  s  Christian  Associations 

missionaries  on  the  field.  He  returned  to  India, 
and  at  a  large  conference  of  the  missionaries  of 
the  Madras  presidency,  held  on  March  twelfth, 
1888,  in  an  earnest  address,  presented  reasons 
why  the  missionaries  should  unite  in  inviting  the 
American  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  to 
work  for  young  men  in  foreign  lands.*  "After 
full  consideration  of  Dr.  Chamberlain's  state- 
ments, the  conference  unanimously  resolved, 
'  That  it  will  gratefully  welcome  such  well-qual- 
ified, thoroughly  trained  agents  as  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  may  propose  to 
send,  and  will  give  them  its  cordial  sympathy 
and  co-operation.' "  Meantime,  the  matter 
had  been  laid  before  the  secretaries  of  several 
prominent  mission  boards,  and  received  their 
hearty  indorsement. 

In  1888  Mr.  Wishard  started  on  a  tour  of  the 
colleges  and  cities  of  mission  lands.  He  says:f 
"  McBurney,  more  than  any  other  member  of 
the  committee,  strongly  believed  in  the  foreign 
work,  and  encouraged  me  at  every  step  of  it." 
Upon  the  suggestion  contained  in  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Wishard,  money  was  secured  in  New  York 
to  enable  Mr.  Swift  to  give  his  whole  time  to 
association  work,  though  he  was  not  as  yet  in 
official  relation  except  as  corresponding  member 
to  the  American  committee.  Mr.  Swift  attended 
the  international  convention  held  at  Philadelphia 
in  1889.  At  this  convention  two  addresses  were 
given  upon  work  for  young  men  in  foreign  lands, 
and  so  much  interest  in  this  cause  was  aroused 
that  the  following  instructions  were  given  to  the 

♦Year  Book,  1889,  page  42. 

t  McBurney  Memorial,  page  97. 

225 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

international  committee:  *  "  Resolved,  That  the 
international  committee  be  empowered  to  estab- 
lish such  associations,  and  place  such  secretaries 
in  the  foreign  mission  field  as  in  its  judgment 
may  be  proper,  and  to  receive  such  contributions 
for  this  work  as  associations  or  individuals  may 
contribute  to  it." 

Immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  this 
convention,  McBurney,  in  a  session  of  the  inter- 
national committee,  moved  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  on  work  for  young  men  in  the  foreign 
field.  McBurney  became  chairman  of  this  com- 
mittee. While  a  number  were  doubtful  about 
the  wisdom  of  inaugurating  this  work,  he  urged 
it  with  earnestness  and  deep  conviction.  In  this 
he  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Morse,  who  relates,  "  I 
was  anxious  to  have  the  foreign  work  com- 
menced, but  the  plan  would  not  have  been  un- 
dertaken without  Mr.  McBurney." 

During  the  summer  of  1889,  McBurney 
framed  a  proposed  policy  for  the  work  in  un- 
evangelized  lands.  This  was  sent  to  all  mem- 
bers of  the  international  committee,  and  finally 
after  incorporating  several  amendments  was 
adopted  at  a  meeting  of  the  committee  Sep- 
tember twenty-six,  1889.     It  was  as  follows  :f 

"  1.  The  convention  did  not  contemplate  the 
sending  out  of  general  missionaries,  and  there- 
fore any  such  course  of  procedure  by  the  inter- 
national committee,  the  state  committees,  or  local 
associations  is  unauthorized. 

"  2.  Where  the  way  is  open  for  association 
work  in  any  nation,  and  a  competent  association 

♦International  report,  1899,  page  70. 
f  Year  Book,  1890,  page  43. 

226 


Young  Mens  Christian  Associations 

worker  is  ready  to  go,  the  committee  will  gladly 
send  such  worker,  provided  funds  needed  for 
the  purpose  of  sending  and  maintaining  him 
upon  the  foreign  mission  field  are  specially  con- 
tributed— the  treasurer  of  the  committee  being 
instructed  to  keep  a  separate  account  of  such 
funds. 

"  3.  The  chief  aim  of  such  American  repre- 
sentative upon  the  foreign  mission  field  should 
be  to  train  and  develop  native  Christian  young 
men  in  the  principles  and  methods  of  the  asso- 
ciation work,  and  to  plant  native,  self-sustaining 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  rather  than 
to  lay  the  basis  for  the  call  and  coming  of 
American  associates  into  that  work. 

"4.  All  the  work  of  such  American  represen- 
tatives should  be  carried  on  in  harmony  with, 
and  in  conformity  to,  the  deliverances  and  in- 
structions of  the  international  conventions. 

"  5.  The  work  of  such  representative  should 
also  be  carried  on,  not  only  in  harmony  with  the 
evangelical  missionaries  and  pastors  of  churches 
on  his  field,  and  with  the  various  foreign  mission 
boards  they  represent,  but  most  earnest  effort 
must  be  made  by  him  to  secure  their  approval, 
sympathy,  and  co-operation. 

"6.  This  American  representative  shall  be 
known  as  secretary  of  the  international  commit- 
tee for  the  field  to  which  he  is  sent. 

"  7.  While  the  international  committee  is  the 
agent  of  the  international  convention,  and  is  a 
medium  for  the  transmission  of  such  money  as 
it  may  receive  from  associations  and  individuals 
for  the  support  of  these  representatives  on  the 
foreign   field,  it   cannot   assume  for  the    salary 

227 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

and  other  expenses  of  these  representatives  a 
financial  responsibility  beyond  the  contributions 
offered  and  pledged  in  the  manner  alluded  to, 
nor  can  such  expenses  be  made  a  charge  upon 
the  committee's  general  treasury. 

"  8.  Such  representative  shall  report  at  least 
every  month  to  the  committee,  and  through  it 
to  the  financial  constituency  sustaining  their 
work. 

"9.  This  work  upon  the  foreign  mission  field 
shall  be  placed  under  the  direction  of  a  special 
subcommittee  of  the  international  committee." 

By  this  policy  the  association  strictly  guards 
itself  from  being  a  pioneer  in  foreign  mission 
work.  It  regards  its  province  to  be  to  follow 
the  missionaries  of  the  church,  and  to  co-operate 
with  them  as  they  may  desire.  It  is  also  arranged 
that  the  budget  for  the  foreign  work  shall  be 
entirely  distinct  from  the  home  budget,  so  that 
there  will  be  no  confusion  in  the  minds  of  con- 
tributors, and  only  such  work  is  to  be  undertaken 
as  is  provided  for  in  advance.  A  recognition 
of  the  dignity  and  importance  of  this  work  is 
the  provision  that  the  secretaries  sent  out  are 
to  be  known  as  secretaries  of  the  international 
committee.  The  rapid  development  of  the  for- 
eign work  during  the  past  ten  years  has  demon- 
strated McBurney's  foresight,  and  is  another 
illustration  of  his  statesmanlike  qualities.  It  is 
also  interesting  that  it  is  the  type  of  work  for 
young  men  evolved  in  America,  in  which  he  had 
such  influence  in  shaping,  which  the  missionaries 
upon  the  foreign  field  have  sought,  and  which 
is  rapidly  spreading  throughout  the  world. 

Only  the  choicest  men  have  been  chosen  for 
228 


Toung  Mens  Christian  Associations 

this  service.  The  second  secretary  to  go  out 
was  David  McConaughy,  who  left  the  large  and 
influential  work  at  Philadelphia  to  undertake  the 
secretaryship  at  Madras,  India.  At  the  time  of 
McBurney's  death,  there  were  two  secretaries  in 
Japan,  four  in  India,  one  in  Ceylon,  one  in  Brazil, 
and  four  in  China. 

It  is  necessary  here  to  record  one  of  the 
most  trying  experiences  in  McBurney's  life  of 
service — his  severance  from  the  international 
committee  which  he  had  served  faithfully  for  so 
many  years.  It  is  plain  that  he  felt  heavily  at 
times  the  burden  of  the  various  lines  of  execu- 
tive work  which  rested  upon  him.  He  first 
offered  his  resignation  in  September,  1892.  In 
this  letter  of  resignation  he  says:  "  Finding  it 
necessary  to  be  relieved  of  some  part  of  the 
burden  of  association  work,  I  have  been  consid- 
ering my  relations  to  the  international  com- 
mittee  The  work   of   the  committee  in 

which  perhaps  I  am  most  interested,  the  foreign 
mission  work,  will  need  closer  and  more  care- 
ful supervision  in  the  future  than  I  can  possibly 
give  to  it.  I  have  always  believed  that  the 
members  should  hold  a  close  and  direct  relation 
to  their  subcommittee  work,  not  merely  assent- 
ing to  the  plans  of  the  secretaries While 

having  the  fullest  confidence  in  the  self-devo- 
tion and  zeal  of  every  secretary  of  the  com- 
mittee, I  believe  it  would  be  a  peril  to  the 
association  cause  if  the  members  of  the  sub- 
committees do  not  come  into  possession  first- 
hand of  all  the  details  of  the  work,  the  super- 
vision of  which  is  committed  to  them." 

This  resignation,  however,  was  not  accepted, 
229 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

and  McBurney  continued  as  a  member  of  the 
committee.  He,  however,  felt  his  growing  in- 
firmities. He  had  recently  returned  from  his 
absence  in  Palestine,  and  speaking  of  this  in  a 
letter  to  a  friend,  he  said:  "I  found  it  neces- 
sary to  go  away  from  New  York,  owing  to 
impaired  health,  which  came  from  overwork 
and  insufficient  exercise.  I  was  confined  to  my 
room  practically  from  the  early  part  of  Novem- 
ber (1891)  until  the  beginning  of  February 
(1892)." 

Not  only  was  McBurney  feeling  the  pressure 
of  overwork  and  bodily  infirmity,  but  there  was 
a  growing  apprehension  in  his  mind  as  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  policy  of  expansion  of  the 
agencies  of  supervision.  During  the  years  fol- 
lowing 1890  this  expansion  became  more  and 
more  obvious.  The  budget  of  the  international 
committee  and  the  number  of  secretaries  em- 
ployed increased  steadily.  Two  divergent  theo- 
ries were  held:  one,  that  the  chief  agencies  of 
supervision  ought  to  be  the  state  committees, 
and  the  other,  as  McBurney  described  it,  held 
that  "  The  more  state  work  is  developed,  the 
greater  need  there  will  be  for  international 
work."  McBurney  strongly  opposed  the  latter 
view.  He  feared  too  much  concentration  and 
centralization  in  the  hands  of  the  international 
committee.  He  felt  that  the  budget  was  becom- 
ing dangerously  large.  His  own  words  regard- 
ing this  were,  "I  believe  that  the  committee 
has  entered  upon  a  career  which  will  result  in 
disaster  sooner  or  later."  He  was  also  opposed 
to  the  plan  of  the  field  secretaryship,  by 
which  the  country  was  divided  into  several  dis- 

230 


Toung  Men  s  Christian  Associations 

tricts  and  a  resident  secretary  placed  in  charge 
of  each. 

Accordingly,  in  the  summer  of  1895,  ne 
renewed  his  resignation  to  the  committee,  and 
insisted  upon  it  being  accepted.  It  was  with 
sincere  regret  that  the  committee  assented  to 
his  request,  on  the  nineteenth  of  September, 
1895.  The  following  minute,  prepared  by  Mr. 
Richard  C.  Morse,  was  placed  upon  the  records 
of  the  committee: 

"As  secretary  of  the  New  York  association  and  one 
of  its  delegates,  Mr.  McBurney  attended  his  first  inter- 
national convention  in  1865,  at  Philadelphia.  Owing  to 
his  successful  exertions  some  discussion  was  accomplished 
in  that  convention  of  distinctive  work  for  young  men. 
It  was  quite  an  achievement  upon  what  we  would  call 
right  lines  in  those  early  days,  when  discussions  were 
diverted  to  many  subjects  quite  apart  from  distinctive 
work  for  young  men. 

"The  following  year,  when  the  convention  met  at 
Albany,  he  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
executive  (or  international)  committee's  report.  This 
committee,  up  to  that  time,  had  been  itinerated  from 
year  to  year,  its  last  place  of  abode  having  been  Phila- 
delphia. He  drafted  and  presented  the  resolution  which 
was  adopted  locating  the  committee  for  three  years  in 
New  York  City,  where  it  has  since  continued.  It  con- 
sisted at  first  of  five  members,  all  resident  in  New  York 
City.  Though  not  at  that  time  chosen  one  of  the  five 
original  members,  Mr.  McBurney  was  continued  as  cor- 
responding member  for  the  state  of  New  York,  and  as 
such,  in  response  to  special  invitation,  he  attended  the 
meetings  of  the  committee  regularly  from  the  beginning, 
and  rendered  specially  valuable  service  during  the  first 
year  of  the  committee's  work.  On  the  reappointment  of 
the  committee,  three  years  later,  by  the  convention  at 
Portland  (1869)  he  was  elected  one  of  its  members,  and 
has  ever  since  been  among  the  most  faithful  at  all  the 
sessions,  keeping  himself  posted  on  all  lines  of  the  work. 

231 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

"In  the  early  days  he  was  the  main  reliance  of  the 
committee  in  the  direction  of  the  finances.  In  1868  he 
secured,  by  his  own  personal  solicitation,  the  money 
needed  by  the  committee  to  put  in  the  field  its  first  agent, 
Mr.  Robert  Weidensall;  and  in  the  following  year  (1869), 
it  was  owing  to  his  selection  and  solicitation  that  the 
committee  secured  its  present  general  secretary.  As  the 
international  work  developed  from  year  to  year,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  exaggerate  Mr.  McBurney's  influence  in 
the  councils  of  the  committee.  He  kept  in  touch  with 
every  new  department.  In  the  absence  at  any  inter- 
national convention  of  the  chairman,  Mr.  McBurney  was 
the  member  ready  to  represent  the  committee  upon  the 
floor  in  all  critical  emergencies.  His  unrecorded  ser- 
vices in  this  line  were  simply  invaluable.  He  was  chosen 
president  of  the  international  convention  at  Dayton,  in 
1874,  and  declined  to  serve,  as  he  was  there  on  behalf  of 
the  international  committee  to  present  its  report,  and 
deemed  that  he  could  not  properly  act  in  both  capacities. 

"As  the  work  grew  money  was  needed,  and  it  was  he 
who  began  the  securing  of  that  constituency  of  donors  in 
New  York  City,  whose  contributions  have  formed  so 
large,  stable,  and  indispensable  a  part  of  the  committee's 
annual  fund.  The  proportion  of  the  whole  fund  con- 
tributed by  New  York  in  those  early  days  of  his  solicita- 
tion was  as  great  as  at  the  present  time. 

"During  the  years  of  this  influential  connection  with 
the  international  committee  and  convention,  he  was  (1) 
general  secretary  of  the  New  York  City  association, 
which  he  was  helping  to  make  the  leading  association  of 
the  country — a  position  it  maintained  steadily;  and  in 
the  general  secretaries'  conference  he  was  showing  him- 
self to  be  the  leader  of  the  general  secretaries  of  the 
country;  (2)  he  was  also  the  prominent  leader  in  the  New 
York  state  convention  and  committee,  during  the  earlier, 
formative  period  of  its  growth,  when  it  began  to  take 
rank  with  the  best  state  organizations  and  work  in  the 
country.  He  was  therefore  ever  bringing  to  the  councils 
of  the  committee  the  ripe  experience  gained  in  these 
departments  of  association  work,  and  was  an  influential 
factor  in  enabling  the  committee  to  maintain  that  leader- 
ship in  supervision  and  extension  which  has  given  it  its 

232 


Toung  Men  s  Christian  Associations 

strong  and  useful  position  in  the  scheme  of  our  work  for 
young  men. 

"It  would  seem  appropriate  here  to  record  the  fact 
that  at  the  international  convention  at  Albany,  in  1866, 
it  was  Mr.  McBurney  who  introduced  not  only  the  resolu- 
tion locating  the  international  committee  at  New  York 
City,  but  another  giving  the  committee  authority  to  call 
state  and  provincial  conventions,  and  to  issue  the  call  for 
the  observance  of  the  Week  of  Prayer  in  November, 
which  has  since  become  a  world-wide  observance. 

"Previous  to  the  adoption  of  the  evangelical  test  at 
the  Detroit  and  Portland  conventions  of  1868  and  1869, 
Mr.  McBurney  had  already  carried  the  adoption  of  that 
test  at  the  New  York  state  convention  in  1867,  and  was 
able  to  throw  his  influence  intelligently  and  most  help- 
fully in  favor  of  its  adoption  at  the  international  meeting. 

"More  steadily  and  influentially  than  any  other  mem- 
ber he  has  represented  the  committee  at  the  world's 
conferences  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  attending 
every  conference  but  one  since  the  year  1872,  and  serving 
prominently  on  the  committees  of  each  conference. 

"His  leadership  in  the  foreign  work  of  the  committee, 
from  its  very  beginning,  as  permanent  chairman  of  the 
foreign  work  committee,  is  one  of  his  latest  and  best 
contributions  to  the  international  work. 

"The  committee  accepts  with  great  reluctance  the 
resignation  of  Mr.  McBurney,  and  places  on  its  minutes 
this  brief  record  of  his  long  term  of  invaluable  service, 
with  the  expression  of  its  affectionate  appreciation,  and 
with  the  earnest  prayer  that  his  best  and  most  fruitful 
years  may  be  those  that  yet  remain  to  complete  and  to 
crown  his  lifelong  devotion  in  his  Master's  name  to  the 
welfare  of  young  men  both  at  home  and  abroad." 

On  behalf  of  the  committee, 

Richard  C.  Morse, 

General  Secretary. 

Writing  to  one  of  his  fellow  secretaries,  Mc- 
Burney said  later: 

"The  city  work  crowds  me  very  much,  and  the  inter- 
national work  was   a  heavy   burden,    heavier  than    any 

233 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

person  out  of  New  York  City  could  appreciate,  and  for 
that  reason  it  became  necessary  for  me  to  resign.  I  had 
served  the  committee  for  twenty-nine  years,  and  was 
entitled  to  be  relieved." 

But  active  men  cannot  give  up  service  which 
is  dear  to  them  without  many  poignant  and 
keen  regrets.  That  McBurney  felt  the  sever- 
ance of  this  life-long  relationship,  there  is 
abundant  evidence.  Writing  to  one  of  the 
secretaries  in  the  foreign  field,  he  said  : 

"My  greatest  regret  in  resigning  from  the  committee 
is,  that  I  am  withdrawn  from  close  relation  to  the  foreign 
mission  work.  My  sympathies  are  more  deeply  enlisted 
with  you  fellows  that  have  gone  to  the  front  than  with 
any  other  set  of  men  that  I  have  any  knowledge  of, 
either  at  home  or  abroad.  I  assure  you  it  was  hard  to 
withdraw  from  that  work,  but  I  am  quite  sure  that  I  have 
done  right,  though  it  has  cost  me  a  good  deal." 

McBurney  accepted  a  position  as  a  member 
of  the  advisory  committee,  and  continued  in  this 
relation  to  the  international  work  until  his 
death.  It  is  gratifying  also  to  record  that  at 
the  conference  of  the  traveling  secretaries  of 
the  international  committee  held  in  the  fall  of 
1896,  at  which  the  plans  of  each  department  for 
the  coming  year  were  discussed,  McBurney  was 
present.  He  listened  to  the  account  of  the  work 
of  each  man,  and  at  the  close  of  the  conference 
expressed  his  enthusiastic  appreciation  of  the 
work  that  the  committee  was  doing. 

McBurney' s  interest  in  work  for  young  men 
had  gone  through  a  steady  evolution.  At  first 
he  served  the  small  organization  of  151  mem- 
bers in  New  York  City  in  1862.  From  this  he 
grew  into   sympathy  and    interest    for    all    the 

234 


Toung  Men 's  Christian  Associations 

tempted  young  men  of  the  metropolis.  Very 
rapidly  his  interest  and  sympathy  went  out  to 
the  young  men  of  America,  and  we  find  him 
active  in  the  international  conventions.  In  the 
fullness  of  his  powers  when  the  Twenty-third 
Street  building  was  completed,  and  he  stood 
pre-eminent  among  the  leaders  for  work  for 
young  men  in  America,  we  find  him  taking  part 
in  the  conventions  and  advising  with  the  lead- 
ers of  the  associations  of  Europe.  Later  he 
formulated  the  platform  upon  which  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  have  undertaken 
their  work  for  young  men  in  non-Christian 
lands.  Thus  was  perfected  the  sublime  service 
of  a  noble  heart  and  a  noble  life. 


235 


CHAPTER  IV 

McBURNEY'S   CONTRIBUTION   TO   THE 
SECRETARYSHIP 

THE  SECRETARIES'  CONFERENCE— THE  TRAINING  SCHOOL 
AT  SPRINGFIELD 

Of  all  the  association  movement  has  Drought 
forth,  the  most  vital  contribution  is  the  sec- 
retaryship. To  this  may  be  attributed  its  per- 
manence and  continued  power.  The  church 
will  never  give  up  the  idea  of  having  specially 
prepared  and  qualified  men  set  apart  for  direct 
work  among  young  men.  Prior  to  187 1,  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  was  a  move- 
men  under  volunteer  leadership.  Since  that 
time  the  employed  officers  have  risen  into  a 
place  of  great  influence.  Of  these  McBurney 
was  easily  the  chief.  The  period  of  volunteer 
leadership  was  marked  by  activity  in  evangelistic 
work  for  young  men.  The  second  period  has 
seen  the  rise  of  a  diversified  work  for  the  cul- 
ture and  development  of  Christian  young  man- 
hood. 

It  has  been  said  that  Robert  McBurney 
created  the  secretaryship.  He  has  been  called 
the  "discoverer  and  demonstrator"  of  this 
office.  In  this  he  made  his  greatest  contribu- 
tion to  the  movement  which  he  served,  and  to 
the  world.  He  was  the  first  to  really  give  shape 
and  character  to  the  secretarial  office.  He  was 
by  no    means  the   first  salaried   official   in   the 

236 


McBurney' s  Contribution  to  the  Secretaryship 

association.  A  city  missionary  among  young 
men  was  employed  by  the  London  association 
within  six  months  of  its  origin.  McBurney 
owed  much  to  Mr.  William  E.  Shipton  who  be- 
came secretary  of  the  London  society  in  1850. 
A  number  of  men  were  employed  by  the  Ameri- 
can associations  before  1862,  but  it  was  McBur- 
ney who  first  developed  the  distinctive  executive 
characteristics  which  make  the  secretaryship 
to-day.  He  became  in  a  sense  the  personal 
embodiment  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion work.  When  he  became  secretary  in  New 
York,  there  were  but  three  or  four  salaried  offi- 
cers in  the  American  associations,  and  less  than 
a  dozen  in  the  world.  His  experience,  his  force- 
ful, genial,  and  tactful  personality,  his  wide  ac- 
quaintance, and  his  commanding  position  in  New 
York  City,  made  him  the  leader  of  the  secreta- 
rial force,  as  it  grew  from  this  small  group  to  a 
trained  regiment  of  fourteen  hundred  men  united 
in  one  brotherhood,  and  giving  their  lives  to  one 
cause.  McBurney  was  looked  up  to  as  a  father 
and  teacher  by  this  alert  body  of  younger  men. 
He  took  it  upon  himself  to  be  concerned  in  all 
secretarial  affairs.  He  was  even  charged  with 
being  a  "boss"  by  those  whose  purposes  ran 
counter  to  his  own.  Scores,  and  perhaps  hun- 
dreds, of  secretarial  positions  were  filled  upon 
his  recommendation,  and  there  are  not  a  few 
occasions  where  he  was  instrumental  in  securing 
the  removal  of  inefficient  men. 

McBurney's  qualities  as  a  friend  and  com- 
panion shine  out  in  his  relation  to  his  fellow 
secretaries.  He  bore  the  difficulties  and  bur- 
dens of  the  many  who  came  to  him  for  advice. 

237 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

He  was  particularly  sympathetic  with  the  new 
and  inexperienced  men.  He  sought  them  out 
at  conferences,  and  encouraged  them  whenever 
he  had  opportunity.  There  is  no  more  beauti- 
ful example  of  fellowship  in  Jesus  Christ  than  is 
to  be  found  in  the  fraternity  of  the  employed 
officers  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion. Separated  by  distance,  often  standing 
alone  in  a  community,  facing  new  and  untried 
problems,  without  experience,  these  men  are 
drawn  by  an  irresistible  need  to  an  intimate 
fellowship  with  one  another.  As  St.  Francis  of 
Assisi,  that  beautiful  character  of  the  Middle 
Age,  drew  about  himself  the  "  little  brothers"  of 
St.  Francis,  and  welded  them  into  a  mighty 
order,  so  McBurney  drew  to  himself  his  breth- 
ren in  the  secretaryship,  and  created  a  new 
order  adapted  to  the  conditions  of  the  modern 
church. 

The  first  step  in  this  development  occurred 
following  the  international  convention  at  Wash- 
ington in  187 1,  when  aboard  a  steamer  sailing 
from  the  capital  to  Mount  Vernon,  a  meeting 
was  held  of  the  salaried  agents  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association.  Only  twelve  men 
were  present.  McBurney  was  called  to  the 
chair,  and  each  man  gave  an  account  of  his  own 
duties  in  the  association  which  he  represented. 
Only  one  man  bore  the  title  of  general  secre- 
tary. These  men  organized  "  The  Association 
of  the  General  Secretaries  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations  of  the  United  States 
and  British  Provinces."  This  body,  meeting 
annually  through  the  rest  of  McBurney's  life, 
and  now  bi-annually,  became  the  first  training 

238 


McBurney' s  Contribution  to  the  Secretaryship 

school  for  employed  officers  in  the  association. 
To  it  came  the  leaders  from  year  to  year,  and 
also  the  men  who  were  under  appointment  to 
this  office.  McBurney  was  deeply  interested  in 
this  conference.  He  gave  to  it  his  best  thought 
and  effort,  and  brought  to  it  all  the  wealth  of 
his  experience.  The  building  on  Twenty-third 
Street  became  a  rendezvous  for  the  secretaries 
of  the  country.  They  turned  to  McBurney  for 
advice,  counsel,  and  training.  He  was  unre- 
mitting in  his  attendance  upon  the  conference 
of  general  secretaries,  during  its  first  twenty- 
seven  years  being  absent  only  from  the  confer- 
ences at  Racine  in  1883,  Montreal  in  1884,  and 
Oakland,  California,  in  1887. 

At  the  second  conference,  in  1872,  at  Lowell, 
he  earnestly  urged  that  written  papers  be 
prepared  in  the  future,  and  that  there  be  an 
interchange  of  documents  and  frequent  corres- 
pondence among  the  different  secretaries. 
With  this  began  the  practice  of  arranging 
discussions  at  these  conferences,  opened  by  the 
reading  of  a  paper  prepared  by  some  secretary. 
In  the  early  days,  some  complained  that  they 
were  not  competent  to  write  upon  the  subject 
given  them.  To  such  McBurney  offered  pri- 
vate interviews,  out  of  which  each  came 
equipped  with  the  material  for  the  paper  he 
was  asked  to  read.  Often  papers  came  before 
the  conference  which  would  not  have  been 
written  but  for  this  personal  influence.  He 
was  influential  in  preparing  the  programs  for 
these  gatherings. 

McBurney  has  said  of  these  conferences, 
"  They  became  secretarial    institutes,   shaping, 

239 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

defining,  and  perfecting  the  work  of  this  re- 
sponsible office."  He  himself  contributed  to  the 
programs.  In  1873,  at  Poughkeepsie,  he  read 
a  paper  on  "  The  Relation  of  the  Secretary  to 
the  Committees  of  the  Association";  in  1878, 
at  Buffalo,  on  "Association  Lectures — Their  Use 
and  Abuse";  at  Chicago,  in  1880,  on  "The 
Relation  of  the  Local  Secretary  to  the  Inter- 
national Work";  at  New  Haven,  in  1882,  on 
"  Secretarialism  a  Snare  in  Association  Work"; 
at  Harrisburg,  in  1886,  on  "The  Branch  and 
the  Association — Their  Relations";  at  Nash- 
ville, in  1890,  "  How  may  we  Overcome  the  Ten- 
dency to  Spiritual  Barrenness  in  the  Paid 
Employee";  at  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  in  1891,  "Bible 
Study  in  the  Associations";  at  Louisville,  1893, 
"Secretarialism";  and  at  Selma,  Ala.,  in  1897, 
"  The  Weakness  of  the  Religious  Work  of  the 
Association."  The  attendance  at  these  con- 
ventions rapidly  enlarged.  At  Poughkeepsie,  in 
1873,  thirty-one  employed  men  were  present;  at 
Chicago,  in  1880,  131  were  present;  at  Grand 
Rapids,  in  1888,  245  were  present;  at  Cleveland, 
in  1896,  270  were  present.  These  conferences 
possess  no  legislative  power,  and  seldom  pass 
resolutions.  They  are  not  open  to  the  press, 
and  give  opportunity  for  confidential  discussion 
and  expression  of  opinion  which  is  most  help- 
ful. It  was  in  these  gatherings  that  the  frater- 
nal, intimate  relations  which  have  bound  the 
secretaries  of  different  parts  of  the  continent 
together  were  firmly  cemented.  These  con- 
ferences were  usually  occasions  of  marked  spir- 
itual blessing. 

Perhaps  the  most  influential  paper  prepared 
240 


McBurney' s  Contribution  to  the  Secretaryship 

by  McBurney  for  the  secretaries'  conferences 
was  the  one  on  "  Secretarialism  a  Snare  in  As- 
sociation Work,"  read  at  New  Haven,  in  1882. 
McBurney's  conception  of  the  secretary  was 
that  it  was  his  function  to  set  the  membership 
at  work.  He  considered  that  success  of  a 
secretary  was  measured  by  the  degree  in  which 
he  developed  men,  and  led  the  membership  of 
the  association  out  into  active  work  for  young 
men.  This  was  the  great  message  that  he 
sought  to  carry  to  his  fellow-secretaries.  He 
did  not  look  upon  the  salaried  officer  as  being 
employed  to  do  the  work  of  the  association 
himself,  but  rather  as  a  leader  who  was  to  win, 
to  incite,  to  train,  and  to  direct  others.  He 
was  not  to  be  the  man  before  the  public,  but 
the  inspirer  and  pilot;  a  conspicuous  secretary 
he  considered  a  menace  to  the  cause.  In  this 
paper  he  said,  "  Some  associations  have  been 
secretarialized  (a  term  coined  by  McBurney) 
into  a  state  of  absolute  inefficiency."  By  sec- 
retarialism he  stated  that  he  meant  "  the  tak- 
ing by  the  secretary  of  an  undue  part,  place, 
and  prominence  in  the  association.  The  true 
secretary  will  ever  keep  in  mind  that  his  duty 
is  to  keep  the  directors  and  members  in  the 
foreground  and  himself  in  the  background. 
Where  the  secretary  does  not  do  this,  he  dwarfs 
the  membership,  makes  it  inefficient,  and  min- 
imizes the  association.  The  general  secretary 
should  seek  to  make  himself  a  training  officer. 
He  should  train  the  young  men  of  his  associa- 
tion to  be  winners  of  souls,  and  the  members  of 
committees  to  assume  responsibility  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  affairs  committed  to  them  in 

241 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

a  thoroughly  systematic  and  business-like  man- 
ner. He  should  so  train  his  working  force  that 
if  he  is  removed  the  work  will  go  on  systemat- 
ically and  effectively.  The  secretary  is  strongly 
tempted  to  neglect  this,  owing  to  his  own  famil- 
iarity with  the  work — the  knowledge  that  he 
can  do  it  better  than  a  young  man  less  familiar 
with  it,  and  possessing  less  ability  than  himself. 
Some  secretaries,  forgetting  that  they  should 
be  training  officers,  do  a  vast  amount  of  work 
themselves,  and  so  rob  the  committees  and 
other  officers  of  responsibility  for  the  very  ser- 
vice with  which  they  are  charged.  I  am 
acquainted  with  an  association  where  every 
religious  meeting  is  conducted  by  a  paid 
official,  save  one  meeting  that  has  a  permanent 
leader.  The  secretary  and  the  board  of  direc- 
tors commend  this  course  on  the  plea  that  bet- 
ter results  are  secured.  If  this  course  were 
followed  by  associations  generally,  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  the  associations  would 
become  a  curse  rather  than  a  blessing." 

McBurney's  ideal  of  the  secretaryship  stood  in 
direct  contrast  with  that  represented  by  William 
E.  Shipton,  the  secretary  of  the  London  associa- 
tion, who  was  his  contemporary.  In  1856  Mr. 
Shipton  wrote  in  a  letter  to  an  American  friend: 
"  Here  we  have  not,  as  with  you,  committees  for 
discharging  all  special  duties  in  connection  with 
the  work.  Our  committees  are  simply  consul- 
tative. The  secretary  of  the  society  conducts 
its  meetings,  arranges  its  public  lectures,  keeps 
minutes  and  accounts,  solicits  and  disburses  its 
funds,  conducts  all  of  its  correspondence,  receives 
young    men    for    private    religious    interviews, 

242 


McBurney' s  Contribution  to  the  Secretaryship 

teaches  classes  and  delivers  lectures  to  our  own 
or  branch  associations,  and  daily  at  the  office 
superintends  the  reading-rooms,  receives  visitors 
to  the  association,  and  supplies  information  as 
to  its  proceedings,  meets  the  representatives  of 
branch  or  kindred  associations,  and  as  far  as  op- 
portunity permits, uses  hospitality  towards  them." 
McBurney  was  directly  opposed  to  this  concep- 
tion. 

He  was  as  watchful  as  a  father  over  his  fellow- 
secretaries.  He  encouraged  them,  and  when  he 
thought  they  needed  it,  he  reproved  them.  He 
also  studied  the  development  of  this  office. 
He  particularly  felt  that  frequent  changes  on 
the  part  of  the  men  were  a  serious  evil.  Writing, 
in  1893,  ne  said:  "  I  believe  it  is  a  decided  dis- 
advantage to  secretaries  and  to  associations  to 
have  secretaries  change  their  positions.  There 
is  a  certain  restiveness  among  secretaries  that 
is  beginning  to  give  business  men  the  impres- 
sion that  they  are  in  the  work  for  what  they 
receive  more  than  for  what  they  can  do.  This 
has  been  intensified  in  some  quarters  by  the  fact 
that  secretaries,  after  acquiring  an  acquaintance 
and  influence  in  the  association,  have  resigned 
their  office  to  enter  business,  and  thereafter 
have  taken  little  if  any  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  associations  in  towns  in  which  they  have  set- 
tled  Secretaries  have  need  to  keep  in 

mind  that  their  place  is  a  place  of  service." 

McBurney  was  also  insistent  upon  his  asso- 
ciates keeping  the  spiritual  side  of  the  work 
pre-eminent.  In  a  letter  written  in  1897,  he 
says:  "The  secretary  of  the  association  is  upon 
a  hill,  and  has  even  greater  responsibilities  rest- 

243 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

ing  upon  him,  in  some   respects  at  least,  than 

almost  any  other  man  in  the  community 

He  is  responsible  to  the  association  and  to  the 
community  for  the  reaching  of  young  men.  He 
may  have  a  model  educational  work,  a  good 
physical  department,  large  meetings,  and  a 
thorough  social  atmosphere,  but  if  he  has  not  a 
band  of  workers  who  are  personally  reaching 
young  men  and  winning  them  from  sin  to  right- 
eousness, from  the  world  to  the  church  of  Jesus 
Christ,  he  is  not  fulfilling  his  responsibility." 

It  is  also  interesting  to  note  that  McBurney 
regarded  the  local  secretaryship  as  the  most  im- 
portant office  in  association  work. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  McBurney  recognized 
his  own  leadership,  and  while  he  was  an  ex- 
tremely modest  man,  he  felt  keenly  any  loss  of 
prestige.  One  of  the  marked  disappointments 
of  his  life  came  in  connection  with  the  secre- 
taries' conference  at  Harrisburg  in  1886.  The 
New  York  association  had  become  active  in  the 
propagation  of  the  White  Cross  League,  and 
had  established  a  large  branch  of  the  White 
Cross  Army.  McBurney  believed  in  this  move- 
ment, and  was  desirous  of  seeing  it  adopted  by 
the  associations,  feeling  that  it  would  be  a  help- 
ful agency.  The  subject  of  the  White  Cross 
Army  arose  incidentally.  In  the  discussions  at 
Harrisburg,  a  severe  attack  was  made  upon  the 
procedure  in  New  York  by  a  number  of  those 
at  the  conference,  who  held  that,  instead  of 
opposing  specific  sins,  it  was  the  province  of  the 
association  to  get  to  the  root  of  the  matter  by 
seeking  a  change  of  character  in  men  through 
salvation  in  Jesus  Christ.     McBurney  was  thor- 

244 


McBurney's  Contribution  to  the  Secretaryship 

oughly  aroused,  and  made  one  of  his  most 
notable  speeches.  He  was  opposed  by  I.  E. 
Brown  of  Illinois,  Robert  Orr  of  Pittsburg,  and 
W.  E.  Lewis  of  Wisconsin.  He  was  grieved 
over  the  apparent  reproach  that  the  New  York 
association  was  being  satisfied  with  something 
less  than  the  salvation  of  young  men.  He  urged 
that,  while  the  association  should  seek  earnestly 
to  win  young  men,  it  should  not  neglect  the  aid 
which  the  White  Cross  movement  could  give  it. 
He  was,  however,  voted  down,  and  a  resolution 
was  passed  as  follows:  "Resolved,  That,  while 
we  recognize  the  great  necessity  there  is  for  per- 
sistent effort  to  promote  personal  purity  among 
young  men,  we  deem  it  unwise  and  contrary  to 
the  well-established  principles  formulated  for  the 
guidance  of  our  associations  by  the  international 
convention,  for  the  associations  as  such  to  adopt 
the  methods  of  the  White  Cross  Army  and 
similar  societies;  and  that,  while  we  sympathize 
with  all  efforts  for  the  improvement  of  the 
moral  condition  of  men,  we  are  still  of  the  opin- 
ion that  it  is  unadvisable  for  the  associations  to 
engage  in  any  organized  efforts  for  moral  reform. 
But  we  recommend  that  through  the  approved 
agencies  of  the  association  more  systematic  and 
earnest  effort  be  made  in  the  physical  depart- 
ments to  discourage  impurity  of  every  form, 
and  to  lead  men  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  savior 
from  sin."  This  debate  had  come  up  incident- 
ally, and  McBurney  felt  called  upon  to  defend 
the  action  of  the  New  York  association.  One  of 
McBurney's  friends,  now  an  influential  secre- 
tary, said  afterwards,  "I  was  much  incensed  at 
the  treatment  he  received  upon  the  floor."      He 

245 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

was  himself  profoundly  cast  down  by  the  result. 
A  friend  said  later  that  tears  came  to  his  eyes 
in  referring  to  this  incident,  and  that  he  spoke 
as  though  his  child  had  left  him,  and  no  longer 
looked  to  him  for  guidance. 

At  the  secretaries'  conference  at  Selma, 
Ala.,  in  1897,  McBurney's  associates  took  the 
opportunity  to  recognize  the  completion  of  his 
thirty-five  years  of  service  by  a  complimentary 
address,  and  the  passing  of  the  following  resolu- 
tion, which  shows  the  warm  esteem  in  which  he 
was  held  by  his  fellow-workers: 

"With  thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God,  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  of  North  America  take  note 
of  the  completion  of  thirty-five  years  of  continuous  and 
devoted  service  of  Robert  R.  McBurney  as  general  secre- 
tary of  the  New  York  Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
and  the  attainment  to  sixty  years  in  the  prime  of  his 
strength  and  in  the  vigor  of  his  service. 

"As  members  of  this  association  of  general  secretaries 
and  co-laborers  with  him  in  Christian  work  for  young 
men,  we  desire  to  extend  to  our  brother  sincere  congratu- 
lations upon  this  honorable  attainment,  and  to  assure  him 
of  the  sincere  love  and  hearty  appreciation  which  we  have 
for  the  service  which  he  has  rendered  in  the  advancement 
of  the  movement,  the  life  work  in  which  we  are  engaged, 
and  upon  which  he  entered  from  the  ranks  of  the  active 
membership  a  generation  ago. 

"Without  lessening  the  appreciation  we  hold  for  the  ser- 
vice of  other  men  to  this  organization,  we  would  recognize 
the  noble  service  our  senior  secretary  has  rendered  in  de- 
fining the  character  and  work  of  a  general  secretary  and  in 
shaping  the  policy  of  the  general  secretaries'  association. 

"We  would  acknowledge  the  value  of  the  inspiration 
and  guidance  he  has  given  us  during  the  years  in  which 
we  have  been  associated  with  him. 

"By  the  integrity  of  his  life;  by  the  great-hearted 
love  and  tenderness  of  his  relations  with  us;  by  the 
frankness  with  which  he  has  dealt  with  our  faults  as  he 

246 


McBurney 's  Contribution  to  the  Secretaryship 

has  seen  them ;  by  his  loyalty  to  and  love  for  the  Word 
of  God;  by  his  devotion  to  the  principles  which  have 
characterized  the  association;  by  his  indomitable  persist- 
ency of  purpose ;  by  his  manhood ;  by  his  gentlemanliness ; 
by  his  sympathy;  by  his  self-forgetfulness,  his  hope, 
faith,  and  prayerfulness,  he  has  rendered  us  all  a  personal 
service,  and  shown  us  an  example  of  Christian  manhood 
which  we  desire  to  acknowledge  with  deep  gratitude. 
We  pray  that  our  brother  may  fill  to  the  full  a  half-century 
of  service  with  us  in  working  with  Jesus  Christ  to  advance 
His  Kingdom  among  the  young  men  of  the  world." 

McBurney  was  deeply  interested  in  the  de- 
velopment of  both  the  secretaryship  and  the 
physical  directorship.  He  saw  keenly  the  need 
of  properly  qualified  men  for  these  offices.  Late 
in  1884,  Rev.  David  Allen  Reed  of  Springfield, 
Mass.,  came  to  New  York  to  consult  with  Rich- 
ard Morse,  Erskine  Uhl,  and  McBurney  about 
the  feasibility  of  establishing  a  secretarial  de- 
partment in  connection  with  the  proposed 
school  for  Christian  workers  at  Springfield. 
These  men  entered  heartily  into  this  proposi- 
tion. McBurney  consented  to  become  one  of 
the  incorporators,  and  to  do  his  utmost  in  secur- 
ing funds  and  students  for  the  institution.  The 
school  organized  early  in  1885,  Dut  as  vet  had 
secured  no  instructor  for  the  secretarial  course. 
Among  others,  Mr.  Reed  applied  to  McBurney 
to  suggest  a  suitable  man.  Together  they  went 
over  the  list  of  all  the  employed  secretaries  in 
the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  most  desirable  man  was  Mr. 
J.  T.  Bowne,  who  had  already,  as  secretary  at 
Newburg,  trained  a  large  number  of  men  for 
this  service,  and  who  was  then  employed  as  a 
secretary  of  the  international   committee,  with 

247 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

special  reference  to  securing  secretaries  and 
physical  directors.  Mr.  Bowne  hesitated  to 
take  up  this  task  under  the  impression  that  he 
could  accomplish  more  in  the  New  York  office 
of  the  international  committee.  An  unavailing 
effort  was  made  to  find  some  other  person,  and 
finally,  after  earnest  solicitation  by  McBurney, 
Mr.  Bowne  consented  to  undertake  the  work. 
McBurney  was  a  faithful  and  devoted  member 
of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  training  school. 
His  counsel  was  sought  when  the  association 
department  was  established  as  a  separate  in- 
stitution, in  1890.  It  is  significant  of  McBurney's 
conviction  of  the  importance  of  the  secretariate, 
and  the  place  of  the  training  school  in  the  asso- 
ciation's development,  that  in  disposing  of  his 
estate,  he  provided  that  one-fourth  should  go  to 
the  international  training  school  at  Springfield. 
He  had  not  devoted  himself  to  the  accumula- 
tion of  property,  but  a  maturing  life  insurance 
policy  had  enabled  him  to  purchase  certain 
lots,  which  at  his  death,  with  other  effects,  were 
valued  at  $10,000.  He  was  a  trustee  of  the 
school  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

The  tower  room  in  the  Twenty-third  Street 
building,  in  which  McBurney  lived,  was  the  home 
spot  for  every  employed  association  officer  how- 
ever humble.  Here  were  the  births  of  new  pur- 
poses, and  the  consecrations  of  many  earnest  lives 
to  the  winning  of  young  men  to  Jesus  Christ. 

As  the  creator  of  the  secretaryship,  McBur- 
ney made  his  largest  contribution  to  the  prob- 
lems of  modern  religious  life,  and  it  is  in  the 
hearts  of  his  associates  in  this  service  that  his 
memory  will  longest  be  enshrined. 

248 


CHAPTER  V 

McBURNEY'S  LAST  DAYS 

McBurney's  last  work  was  in  the  capacity  of 
general  secretary  directly  in  charge  of  a  single 
association.  It  was  the  same  field  in  which  he 
had  begun  his  association  career.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1897,  when  he  was  sixty  years  of  age,  by 
force  of  circumstances  he  was  obliged  tempo- 
rarily to  assume  the  secretaryship  of  the  branch 
on  Twenty-third  Street  in  addition  to  his  heavy 
duties  as  metropolitan  secretary.  For  some 
time  the  branch  had  been  without  a  man  in 
charge.  There  was  great  difficulty  in  finding 
the  right  secretary,  and  until  a  man  could  be 
secured,  McBurney  determined,  with  his  usual 
devotion,  to  assume  charge  of  the  work  himself. 
This  was  an  unfortunate  decision;  and  yet  his 
love  for  the  work  in  that  particular  branch 
doubtless  led  him  to  be  over-anxious  for  its  suc- 
cess. The  strain  of  constant,  absorbing,  self- 
consuming  endeavor,  added  to  some  increasing 
bodily  infirmities,  was  telling  upon  his  strength, 
but  he  loved  the  old  building,  and  for  some  time 
he  gave  strenuous  attention  to  the  details  of  its 
work.  The  result  of  this  special  application  im- 
posed upon  an  overtaxed  frame  was  his  enforced 
absence  from  the  anniversary  meeting  in  Janu- 
ary, 1898,  the  first  anniversary  which  he  had 
missed  since  entering  upon  the  work  in  1862. 
It  was  also  the  first  time  since  1870  that  the  an- 

249 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

nual  report  of  the  New  York  work  was  prepared 
by  a  hand  other  than  his  own.  He  was  sent  for 
restoration  to  Atlantic  City.  His  ailment  grew 
in  its  complication,  and  in  February,  1898,  he 
went  out  to  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  of  New 
York  City  for  treatment.  Here  his  friends  min- 
istered to  him  with  the  most  loving  devotion, 
one  providing  for  him  one  of  the  pleasantest 
rooms  in  the  hospital.  In  April  resort  was  had 
to  a  severe  surgical  operation,  but  the  best  at- 
tainments of  medical  science  could  not  give 
relief.  He  was  taken  for  a  month  to  the  Adi- 
rondacks,  and  in  September  to  the  Sanitarium 
at  Clifton  Springs.  Here  he  lingered  for  some 
months,  alternating  between  improvement  and 
decline,  and  suffering  severely  from  multiple 
sarcoma.  Though  his  body  wasted,  he  kept 
his  mind  alert  and  interested  in  the  affairs  of 
the  association,  reading  about  its  work  and  in- 
quiring eagerly  of  the  secretaries  who  came  to 
his  sick-room  to  visit  him.  Mr.  Clarence  J. 
Hicks,  one  of  the  international  secretaries,  was 
at  that  time  living  at  Clifton  Springs  and  saw  him 
frequently,  as  did  also  his  old  friends  George 
A.  Hall,  Richard  C.  Morse,  and  others. 

As  he  had  been  incapacitated  for  service  for 
a  good  many  months,  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  re- 
sign as  secretary  of  the  New  York  associations, 
and  accordingly  in  the  month  of  October  sent 
in  his  resignation.  This  the  board  promptly 
and  tenderly  declined,  extending  him  a  leave  of 
absence  until  the  following  February.  Mr. 
Cleveland  H.  Dodge,  president  of  the  associa- 
tion, to  whom  the  resignation  was  sent,  wrote  on 
October  sixteen,   1898:    "You  cannot  break  off 

250 


McBumey  s  Last  Days 

the  ties  of  thirty-six  years  quite  as  easily  as  all 
that,  and  if  you  think  we  are  going  to  give  up 
our  general  secretary  as  long  as  there  is  any 
breath  in  his  body,  you  are  very  much  mistaken. 
What  is  more,  we  expect  you  back  before  many 

months  have  passed We  need  you  and 

your  ripe  experience  more  now  than  ever,  and 
you  must  brace  up  and  get  well  (if  only  fairly 
well)  for  my  sake  if  for  no  other,  who  have 
always  leaned  on  you.  One  thing  more:  if  you 
ever  even  breathe  to  yourself  the  thought  that 
you  may  ever  become  a  burden  to  those  who 
would  give  all  that  they  have  for  you,  and  if  you 
ever  again  think  of  resigning,  you  will   break 

all  our  hearts Richard  Morse  is  to  see 

you  Wednesday,  and  will  carry  you  the  news  of 
how  offended  we  all  are,  although  we  love  you 
and  reverence  you  beyond  all  words  to  express. 
God  bless  you,  and  give  you  new  strength  and 
courage." 

On  November  seventeenth,  McBurney  wrote 
to  the  office:  "  My  rheumatism  is  less  trouble- 
some, and  I  am  expecting  before  the  winter  is 
over  to  be  at  the  office  once  more."  On  the 
twenty-ninth  he  wrote:  "The  doctor  says  I  am 
making  progress  towards  recovery,  but  it  is  not 
as  apparent  to  me  as  to  him.  The  rheumatism 
seems  to  hold  on  with  remarkable  tenacity,  but 
I  am  patiently  trusting  that  God  may  graciously 
rebuke  the  disease." 

As  the  knowledge  of  his  illness  spread 
throughout  the  association  world,  he  received 
multitudes  of  letters  from  fellow-workers. 
These  are  full  of  sympathy  and  prayer  for  his 
recovery,  and  grateful  recognition  of  his  life  of 

251 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

service.  On  December  seventh,  three  weeks 
before  his  death,  he  wrote:  "Last  night  was 
the  best  night  I  have  had  since  coming  to 
the  sanitarium,  and  though  not  out  of  the  woods 
yet,  I  feel  very  much  like  whistling  this  morn- 
ing. I  certainly  have  reason  to  be  thankful  to 
my  Heavenly  Father  for  exemption  from  pain 
last  night." 

When  it  became  certain  that  he  must  pass 
away,  he  was  told  that  the  end  was  not  far  off. 
He  received  the  announcement  calmly,  but  with 
some  surprise.  On  December  twenty-seventh, 
he  said  to  his  attendant  in  the  morning,  "Almost 
home."  In  the  afternoon  the  end  came  quietly 
and  peacefully. 

The  cheerful  patience  and  sweetness  of  tem- 
per which  characterized  him  through  this  illness 
deeply  impressed  all  who  were  about  him. 

The  funeral  services  were  held  on  Thursday, 
December  twenty-ninth,  in  the  association  hall 
of  the  Twenty-third  Street  building,  the  build- 
ing which  had  been  home  to  him  for  so  many 
years.  This  was  in  keeping  with  his  own  wish. 
The  pastor  of  his  church,  St.  Paul's  Methodist 
Episcopal,  Rev.  George  P.  Eckmann,  presided; 
his  close  friend,  President  M.  W.  Stryker  of 
Hamilton  College  participated;  and  a  tender 
and  devout  appreciation  was  spoken  by  Bishop 
Henry  C.  Potter  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  who  had  been  an  intimate  friend  of 
McBurney.  A  large  number  of  secretaries  of 
local  associations  and  of  the  state  and  interna- 
tional committees  occupied  seats  at  the  right  of 
the  platform.  At  the  left  were  the  employed 
officers  of  the  New  York  association.     In  the 

252 


McBurney' s  Last  Days 

center  were  the  directors  of  the  various  New 
York  branches  and  several  members  of  the 
international  committee,  among  them  William 
E.  Dodge,  Cephas  Brainerd,  Lucien  C.  Warner, 
James  Stokes,  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  and  Morris 
K.  Jesup. 

Bishop  Potter  said:* 

"It  is  in  such  a  presence  as  this  that  we  readjust  our 
standards  of  values.  There  is  much  in  all  our  modern 
life,  and  especially  in  the  life  of  cities,  to  confuse  them. 
Externalisms — the  proportions  and  the  triumphs  of  the 
visible — create  even  in  more  serious  minds  an  undue 
estimate  of  their  value  and  meaning;  and  the  type  of  man 
whose  achievements  are  expressed  by  bulk  and  bigness, 
whether  of  structures,  combinations,  or  accumulations, 
is  the  type  to  which  there  is  apt  to  be  paid  the  largest 
and  the  loudest  homage. 

"It  is  only  when  one  of  another  type — one  to  whom 
externalisms  have  been  all  along  consistently  indifferent, 
who  has  owned  little,  built  little,  accumulated  little — if,  in 
the  material  sense,  anything  at  all — it  is  only  when  such 
an  one  is  taken  from  his  place  and  work  in  life,  and  we 
suddenly  realize  how  much  is  gone  out  of  the  world  in 
his  departure,  that  we  readjust  our  point  of  view.  There 
have  been  rich  men,  potential  men  in  their  influences 
upon  the  street  or  the  market — men  whose  presence  made 
weaker  men  tremble  for  the  interests  which  their  clever- 
ness and  their  combinations  daily  threatened — who  have 
died  and  vanished  without  a  sign  of  grief  or  loss  from 
the  great  world  that  they  seemed  to  have  so  mightily 
influenced,  and  often  with  only  a  sigh  of  relief  that 
cleverness,  adroitness,  powers  of  forecast  and  combina- 
tion, without  any  fine  scruple  to  restrain  them,  have  been 
taken  out  of  this  world. 

"What  a  different  sentiment  is  that  which  gathers 
this  various  and  widely  representative  assemblage  to-day! 
As  I  look  down  into  your  faces,  the  gray  heads  dotting 
soberly  the  larger  assemblage  of  younger  heads  and  faces, 
the  spectacle  is    profoundly  significant.      Some    of    you 

♦McBurney  Memorial. 

253 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

were  the  contemporaries  of  McBurney.  Some  of  you 
have  known  him  and  worked  with  him  during  all  the 
years  of  his  connection  with  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  In  all  sorts  of  spiritual  weather,  in  dark 
days  as  well  as  bright,  in  grave  crises  as  well  as  in  pros- 
perous and  peaceful  seasons,  you  have  wrought  with  him, 
prayed  with  him,  known  him  through  and  through.  And 
not  only  are  you  in  no  doubt  about  him  to-day — not  only 
have  you  never  been  in  any  doubt  about  him — but  more 
than  this,  as  you  stand  about  his  coffin,  as  little  are  you 
in  any  doubt  about  that  supreme  fact  for  which  so  stead- 
fastly and  consistently  he  stood — the  fact  of  Jesus  Christ, 
his  spiritual  sovereignty,  and  the  incomparable  precious- 
ness  of  fellowship  with  him,  and  service  for  him.  The 
air  clears,  the  dust  of  human  strifes  and  rivalries  lifts  and 
rolls  away.  The  things  seen  and  temporal  shrink  to  their 
true  and  insignificant  proportions;  and  in  the  presence 
of  this  noble  manhood,  translated  now  to  worthier 
spheres,  and  as  we  rejoice  to  believe,  to  still  larger 
opportunities,  we  measure  by  what  our  friend  was  and 
did  the  world  and  all  that  is  in  it  at  their  real  value. 

"I  am  not  here  to  eulogize  him.  With  your  knowl- 
edge of  him  and  his  work,  that  would  be  superfluous,  if 
not  impertinent.  He  did  not  need  interpreting.  He 
was  utterly  and  absolutely  transparent,  and  the  chief 
charm  of  his  character,  next  to  its  singular  and  beautiful 
modesty,  was  its  unreserved,  though  always  kindly,  direct- 
ness and  candor.  But  though  he  himself  least  of  all 
could  wish  me  to  spend  these  moments  in  personal 
praise,  it  is  our  privilege — yours  and  mine — to  recall  him 
as  he  was,  and  to  give  thanks  for  qualities  so  fine  and 
high,  and  best  of  all,  so  absolutely  consecrated. 

"In  their  development  it  is  impossible  not  to  recog- 
nize those  converging  forces  which  are  a  part  of  God's 
providential  ordering  in  making  men,  and  in  fitting  them 
for  their  work.  Once,  in  his  company,  it  came  out  inci- 
dentally that  he  was  a  Methodist,  and  I  said,  'McBurney, 
I  have  always  credited  you  with  being  a  Scotch  Presby- 
terian. Surely  "thy  speech  bewrayeth  thee. "  Thou  art 
a  Calvinist  and  a  Scotchman.'  'No,'  he  answered,  smil- 
ingly, 'I  am  neither.  I  am  Irish  by  race,  and  by  fellow- 
ship  a    Methodist.'     It   let   in   a   flood   of    light   upon 

254 


McBurney' s  Last  Days 

characteristics  in  him  which  are  rarely  combined,  and 
still  more  rarely  in  such  happy  proportions.  A  mutual 
friend  told  me  yesterday  that  Dr.  Hodge  of  Princeton 
once  looked  in  upon  him  as  he  was  teaching  a  Bible  class, 
and  after  listening  a  few  moments,  said,  as  he  came 
away,  'McBurney  is  a  Calvinist,  though  he  don't  know 
it.'  He  had  been  speaking  of  God's  great  purpose  for 
man — a  purpose  not  to  be  baffled  or  defeated  by  man's 
waywardness  or  perverseness,  however  extreme.  In  that 
sense  I  hope  we  are  all  Calvinists,  holding  fast,  amid 
human  failures,  to  the  divine  in  man,  which  shall  at  last 
triumph  over  all  sin  and  wrong.  And  we  can  imagine 
McBurney  talking  to  a  company  of  young  men,  and 
pleading  with  them  to  own  their  nobler  destiny,  and  not 
to  fight  against  the  constraining  love  of  Jesus  Christ. 
For,  after  all,  that  was  the  dominant  spring  with  him,  as 
was  natural  in  the  fellowship  to  which  he  belonged.  I 
shall  not  misjudge  them,  I  think,  if  I  say  that  the  domi- 
nant note  in  the  theology  of  our  Methodist  brethren  is  a 
note  of  hope.  And  this  was  a  pre-eminent  note  in  the 
work  and  ministry  of  our  brother  departed. 

"I  call  it  a  ministry,  and  I  do  so  advisedly,  for  no 
theory  of  the  ministry  can  leave  out  of  account  the 
apostle's  definition:  'As  every  man  hath  received  the 
gift,  even  so  minister  the  same  one  to  another,  as  good 
stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God.'  No  one  who 
knew  him  can  doubt  that  he  had  received  the  gift — the 
highest  and  best — of  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  dear  Dr. 
Howard  Crosby,  when  McBurney  was  presented  on  his 
fiftieth  birthday  with  a  purse  of  gold  pieces,  only  spoke 
the  truth  when  he  said,  'I  know  of  no  pastor  of  any 
church  in  this  city  whose  ministry  has  been  so  useful  and 
extended  as  the  ministry  of  McBurney.'  How  wide- 
reaching  it  was,  how  gentle,  how  courageous,  how  endur- 
ing in  its  influence!  One  stops  to  think  of  all  the  young 
men  that  have  passed  under  his  hand,  and  have  been 
moved  and  ennobled  by  his  touch.  Where  are  they 
to-day?  Scattered  far  and  wide,  all  'round  the  world,  in 
various  callings  and  communities,  but  still  carrying  with 
them,  I  venture  to  think,  the  impress  of  that  affectionate 
interest  and  wise  counsel  and  unwearied  watchfulness 
which  once  they  experienced  at  his  hands.     What  words 

255 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBumey 

of  courage  he  has  spoken!  What  lessons  of  loyalty,  and 
purity,  and  fidelity  to  their  divine  Master  he  has  urged 
upon  disheartened,  and  lonely,  and  tempted  ones!  What 
new  faith  in  themselves  and  in  God  he  has  awakened  in 
them,  and  what  hosts  of  young  men  and  of  older  men 
there  are  to-day  who  have  come  to  believe  in  the  father- 
hood of  God,  because,  first  of  all,  they  learned  to  believe 
in  the  brotherhood  of  Robert  McBurney! 

"And  now  we  are  to  bear  him  to  his  rest.  Fitly 
above  his  breast  there  lies  yonder  wreath  of  orchids,  with 
their  chastened  hues,  so  like  his  simple  and  modest  man- 
hood; and  still  more  fitly  rest  there  those  pure  white 
roses,  like  his  own  unstained  and  blameless  self.  True 
knight  of  God,  well  done!  Thou  goest — who  of  us  can 
doubt  it? — to  larger  tasks  even  as  to  nobler  fellowships. 
Be  ours  to  follow  thee,  as  thou  hast  followed  Christ!" 

Through  McBurney's  efforts,  the  association 
had  come  into  possession  of  a  lot  for  stranger 
young  men  in  Woodlawn  cemetery,  to  which  he 
had  given  the  name  "  Place  of  Rest."  Here, 
as  he  himself  wished,  he  was  buried,  the  body 
being  borne  to  Woodlawn  in  a  special  car  pro- 
vided by  the  New  York  Central  Railroad. 

McBurney  had  asked  for  the  greatest  sim- 
plicity in  whatever  services  might  be  held,  but 
when  he  was  assured  that  there  would  certainly 
be  a  memorial  service,  he  made  request  in  his  will 
that  on  such  occasion  there  be  only  congrega- 
tional singing,  that  Mr.  William  E.  Dodge  pre- 
side, and  that  Richard  C.  Morse,  William  W. 
Hoppin,  and  Cephas  Brainerd  be  invited  "  to 
speak  to  young  men  regarding  fidelity  to  the 
association  and  personal  work  for  leading  men 
to  the  Saviour."  He  wished  such  a  service  to 
be  only  in  the  nature  of  an  inspiration;  and 
such  it  was.  This  man,  who  died  without  wife 
or  child  or  close  relative,  was  mourned  by  mul- 

256 


McBurney' s  Last  Days 

titudes  in  his  adopted  city,  and  by  the  associa- 
tion fraternity  throughout  the  world. 

A  large  company  assembled  at  the  memorial 
service,  and  the  addresses  were  the  testimonies 
of  devoted  love.  Resolutions  from  the  New 
York  association  were  presented  by  the  Hon. 
Elihu  Root,  ind  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
provide  a  suitable  memorial. 

The  committee  proposed: 

"First,  the  complete  removal  of  the  floating  indebted- 
ness upon  the  West  Side  Association  Building,  amounting 

to$77,5°°- 

"During  the  last  years  of  his  life,  Mr.  McBurney  was 
absorbingly  occupied  in  promoting  the  erection  and 
equipment  of  the  association  building  of  the  West  Side 
Branch.  In  itself  an  embodiment  of  all  that  was  wisest 
and  best  in  the  work  for  young  men  which  he  had  been 
accomplishing  during  the  many  years  of  his  active  con- 
nection with  the  association,  this  building,  with  its 
admirable  equipment,  stands  as  the  most  fitting  memorial 
of  his  life  work.  His  deepest  solicitude  at  the  time  he 
was  taken  ill  related  to  removing  the  floating  indebted- 
ness on  the  building. 

"Second,  the  placing  in  a  prominent  place  in  that 
building  of  a  memorial  tablet  bearing  the  name  of  Mr. 
McBurney,  and  a  simple  inscription  concerning  his  rela- 
tion to  that  building  and  to  the  work  of  the  association 
for  which  it  stands. 

"Third,  the  erection  upon  the  association  lot  in  Wood- 
lawn  of  a  simple  and  appropriate  monument  bearing  his 
name. 

"Fourth,  the  preparation  of  a  memorial  volume." 

To  accomplish  the  objects  named,  the  sum  of 
$81,000  was  secured,  and  the  debt  on  the  West 
Side  building  removed,  and  a  bronze  bas-relief 
of  McBurney  placed  in  the  reading-room.  An 
able  and  fitting  tribute  was  prepared  by  his 
life-long   friend   Richard  C.  Morse,   which  was 

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Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

published  with  the  addresses  delivered  at  the 
memorial  service. 

A  final  and  significant  memorial  service  was 
held  on  the  afternoon  of  April  nineteen,  1899. 
This  was  a  gathering  of  intimate  fellow-workers 
in  the  association  from  different  fields  of  the 
service,  to  talk  together  about  their  departed 
leader.  Each  one  told  the  others  of  his  own 
intimate  contact  with  McBurney,  and  in  that 
informal,  confidential  conference  the  inner  per- 
sonality of  the  man  was  illuminated  more 
brightly  than  it  could  have  been  in  a  systematic 
presentation  on  a  formal  occasion.  These 
affectionate  individual  testimonies  throw  side 
lights  on  McBurney's  personal  characteristics. 
They  reveal  to  us  the  secret  of  his  dominating 
influence  over  men  in  his  abiding  love  for  Jesus 
Christ  and  his  fellow-men.  It  was  through 
his  love  for  others  and  his  devotion  to  the 
cause  which  enabled  him  to  lay  hold  on  men 
and  make  them  work  for  the  association.  This 
is  the  fundamental  impression  created  by  a 
study  of  his  life. 

The  participants  at  this  gathering  were  Rich- 
ard C.  Morse,  Robert  Weidensall,  T.  K.  Cree, 
H.  P.  Andersen,  John  Glover,  Erskine  Uhl,  H. 
O.Williams,  H.  S.  Ninde,  and  Dr.  Luther  Gulick 
of  the  international  secretarial  force;  L.  L.  Dog- 
gett  and  J.  T.  Bowne  of  the  international  train- 
ing school;  G.  A.  Hall,  state  secretary  of  New 
York;  Edwin  F.  See  of  Brooklyn;  George  A. 
Warburton,  H.  D.  Dickson,  F.  G.  Banister,  and 
Henry  M.  Orne  of  New  York  City;  and  J.  B. 
Griggs  of  Pittsburg.  Mr.  Orne,  McBurney's 
successor,  united  with  Mr.  Morse  in  calling  this 

258 


McBurney  s  hast  Days 

gathering.  Only  employed  officers  in  the  asso- 
ciation were  present. 

Letters  were  read  from  many  who  were  un- 
able to  attend.  The  meeting  was  held  in  the 
tower  room  of  the  Twenty-third  Street  build- 
ing, for  twenty-five  years  the  home  of  him  whose 
life  and  work  these  friends  had  gathered  to  com- 
memorate. Not  a  man  was  present  who  had  not 
met  the  occupant  alone  in  that  chamber.  Its 
curios,  its  pictures,  its  furniture,  and  its  books, 
all  its  arrangement,  spoke  eloquently  of  Mc- 
Burney. 

The  reminiscences  given  by  these  men,  some 
of  which  are  here  related,  show  McBurney  in 
daily  contact  with  his  friends.  They  show  him 
strong,  yet  loving;  sometimes  overbearing,  yet 
always  in  the  end  considerate  of  the  feelings  of 
others. 

Mr.  Morse  said: 

"I  took  the  room  below,  and  then  we  came  together 
in  the  closest  relations  we  had  ever  had.  I  helped  him 
and  he  helped  me  in  every  possible  way.  Eugene  Peck 
came  into  the  work  as  his  assistant,  and  after  him  Henry 
Webster.  We  were  all  together,  aware  of  course,  of  one 
another's  failings  as  well  as  of  one  another's  excellencies. 
We  got  along  very  happily.  We  knew  nothing  else,  day 
or  night,  meal  time  and  sleeping  time,  but  the  associa- 
tion work.  It  was  an  illustration  of  concentration,  upon 
which  I  look  back  with  enjoyment,  but  would  not  expect 
any  one  else  to  quite  reproduce  in  his  relation  to  the  asso- 
ciation. Everything  was  new;  we  were  treading  untried 
paths.  No  one  had  preceded  us  in  the  offices  that  we 
held  and  in  the  work  we  were  trying  to  do;  we  did  not 
live  anything  else  or  think  anything  else. 

"I  would  leave  my  office  to  go  to  lunch  or  dinner 
with  McBurney.  He  had  this  man  to  see  and  that  man, 
and  it  averaged  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  minutes  each 
time  before  I  could  get  him  away  from  his  office.     We 

259 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

never  thought  of  separating;  it  was  essential  that  we 
should  be  together. 

''When  I  went  off  as  visiting  international  secretary 
on  trips  to  conventions  or  other  associations,  I  cannot 
tell  you  what  a  comfort  it  was  to  get  back  to  this  build- 
ing! Coming  from  all  sorts  of  associations,  with  appre- 
hensions about  the  permanency  of  the  work,  I  reached 
this  place  to  find  an  actual  building  and  a  work  going  on 
which  was  an  inspiration  and  a  help.  McBurney's  sym- 
pathies were  of  the  very  broadest.  He  entered  into  all 
the  plans,  all  the  association  situations,  that  I  described, 
and  all  the  problems;  how  should  this  man  be  dealt  with? 
How  should  that  association  be  handled?  He  was  as 
interested  in  it  all  as  a  girl  in  a  love  story,  and  was  full 
of  sympathy. 

"When,  in  1874,  the  burden  of  raising  the  funds  for 
the  international  work,  which  had  previously  been  carried 
by  him,  fell  to  me,  he  helped  me  in  bearing  it.  He  had 
solicited  money  especially  from  New  York  City  donors, 
and  he  introduced  me  to  these  men.  I  remember  we 
would  call  together  and  secure  funds  for  this  work. 

"When  the  New  York  state  work  was  to  be  organized, 
he  began  it  and  directed  it.  We  went  to  the  state  con- 
ventions together." 

Mr.  Morse  added: 

"I  was  chairman  of  the  religious  meetings  committee 
of  the  New  York  City  association.  We  had  several  meet- 
ings each  week,  and  finally  started  the  Sunday  night  tea. 
The  example  came  from  London.  Then  McBurney  con- 
cluded to  take  a  Bible  class.  The  gradual  growth  of  this 
class  for  young  men  was  a  very  interesting  feature  of  the 
development  of  this  building." 

Robert  Weidensall,  the  first  employed  agent 
of  the  international  committee,  said: 

"McBurney  made  the  motion  at  the  international 
convention  at  Detroit,  in  1868,  that  led  to  my  appoint- 
ment. He  raised  about  one  thousand  dollars,  and  five 
hundred  dollars  was  raised  in  Omaha  for  this  purpose. 
The  first  state  convention  at  which  we  met  was  at  Janes- 
ville,  Wisconsin.      Here  we  worked  side  by  side,  and  laid 

260 


McBurney  s  Last  Days 

the  foundation  of  the  work  in  that  state.  All  our  plans 
worked  together  in  great  harmony. 

"I  remember  coming  once  to  this  room  on  a  cold 
night.  I  was  wearing  a  summer  overcoat.  He  brought 
out  his  overcoat  and  said,  'Here,  you  take  this  and  put 
it  on.' 

"We  met  frequently  as  the  years  went  by.  I  remem- 
ber particularly  the  Colorado  convention,  where  we  stood 
together,  facing  a  number  of  questions  which  were 
brought  before  that  gathering,  but  which  had  no  place 
in  an  association  convention.  We  met  them  one  by  one 
and  threw  them  out. 

"He  was  called  of  God  to  this  city  for  a  special  pur- 
pose. He  came  at  an  opportune  time.  There  were  few 
men  then  who  had  the  right  idea  of  the  association,  but 
he  grasped  the  idea  and  it  became  part  of  his  makeup. 
He  devoted  his  life  to  it.  In  view  of  all,  I  regard  him 
as  a  great  man,  the  man  who  more  than  any  other  devel- 
oped the  city  association  idea. 

"He  dominated  everything  of  which  he  took  hold  on 
account  of  his  very  nature  as  a  leader,  as  Moody  and 
Brainerd  have  dominated  in  their  work.  I  have  seen  him 
again  and  again  when  business  men  were  together,  and  I 
have  seen  him  dominate  them  always.  At  the  time  I  did 
not  like  it,  but  now  I  can  see  that  God  used  him  as  he 
used  Luther  and  so  many  others.  He  led,  not  for  him- 
self, but  for  the  association,  and  because  he  believed  the 
cause  demanded  it.  He  took  hold  of  new  things  very 
slowly.  He  was  conservative  in  all  that  concerned  the 
association  and  the  church." 

George  A.  Hall,  who  through  McBurney's 
influence  was  early  called  to  the  state  secretary- 
ship of  New  York  state,  said: 

"I  cannot  really  remember  when  I  first  met  McBurney. 
We  were  boys  here  in  New  York  together.  He  went  to 
the  Mulberry  Street  Methodist  Church,  which  was  a  real 
old  orthodox  church,  and  I  attended  the  Jane  Street 
Methodist  Church,  which  was  one  of  the  more  evangel- 
istic kind.  McBurney  liked  to  come  over  to  our  church. 
We  had  a  band  of  about  forty  young  fellows,  all  active, 

261 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

and  he  told  me  that  he  knew  me  from  these  visits  long 
before  I  was  acquainted  with  him.  Later  I  entered  the 
Methodist  ministry,  and  in  1866  became  a  pastor  in 
Brooklyn.  I  became  better  acquainted  with  McBurney, 
and  occasionally  led  meetings  at  his  request.  In  1868, 
when  there  were  but  four  general  secretaries  in  the  coun- 
try, I  was  invited  to  become  secretary  of  the  association 
at  Washington.  I  advised  with  McBurney,  and  decided 
to  accept.  I  remember  he  did  not  like  Moody's  way  of 
doing  association  work,  and  he  thought  I  was  inclined  to 
the  same  method.  He  was  very  different  from  my  idea 
of  what  a  secretary  ought  to  be  then,  and  we  did  not 
agree  very  well.  We  corresponded  and  visited  back  and 
forth.  He  thought  I  was  running  things  on  too  high  a 
pressure,  with  mass  meetings  and  various  kinds  of  street 
meetings,  and  then  bringing  everybody  into  the  associa- 
tion building.  We  had  many  discussions,  but  at  that 
time  did  not  see  together.  I  used  to  feel  that  he  was  the 
'kid  glove'  secretary,  and  that  I  was  the  secretary  of  the 
common  people. 

"McBurney  was  deeply  interested  in  the  revival  of 
the  Southern  work,  and  recommended  the  first  Southern 
tour  which  I  took.  He  secured  the  money  for  this  tour. 
We  wrote  him  from  each  point  at  which  we  stopped.  He 
even  approved  of  the  evangelistic  part  of  it,  believing 
that  was  the  only  way  to  begin  in  the  conditions  then 
prevailing  in  the  South. 

"At  the  recommendation  of  Moody,  I  was  appointed 
to  be  secretary  of  the  Brooklyn  association,  and  then 
upon  McBurney's  recommendation  I  became  state  secre- 
tary of  New  York. 

"My  closest  connection  with  McBurney  began  in 
1876  and  continued  until  his  death.  The  best  time  to 
see  him  was  in  the  morning.  I  found  it  a  good  plan  to 
come  to  this  room — not  too  early — and  wake  him  up. 
While  he  was  dressing  his  mind  was  free  and  he  could 
advise.  Sometimes  he  would  storm  away  about  the  fool- 
hardiness  of  certain  people,  and  yet  it  would  end  with 
his  sitting  down,  taking  up  his  little  Bible  to  read  his 
lesson,  and  praying  for  these  very  men  about  whom  he 
had  been  storming. 

"I  remember  one  day  we  were  going  out  to  lunch 

262 


McBurney's  Last  Days 

together  with  some  unopened  mail.  He  opened  a  letter 
and  began  reading  aloud  until  he  came  to  this  sentence, 
'You  know  you  are  obstinate.'  He  stopped  and  looked 
at  me.  I  said,  'Well,  Robert,  some  people  think  you 
are  obstinate,  but  you  know  it  is  not  so,'  and  I  burst  out 
laughing.  'What  are  you  laughing  at?'  he  asked.  'Why 
because  that  man  lies  so.  You  have  a  will  of  your  own, 
that's  all!'  " 

Thomas  K.  Cree  said: 

"At  the  Richmond  convention,  in  1875,  Robert  came 
to  me  and  said,  'The  New  England  brethren  want  to 
make  a  Massachusetts  man  chairman  of  this  convention, 
and  it  will  never  do  for  a  New  England  Yankee  to  hold 
that  position  here.'  We  decided  that  Major  Hardie  was 
the  man  for  the  place.  Now,  so  far  as  I  know,  there  was 
not  a  soul  in  that  convention  who  had  heard  of  Hardie 
before,  except  Hall,  McBurney,  and  myself,  but  he  was 
made  president  of  the  convention.  The  Lord's  hand  was 
in  it  as  well  as  McBurney's,  though  McBurney's  was  the 
one  that  did  the  business." 

Mr.  J.  T.  Bowne  said: 

"It  was  very  largely  through  a  consecration  meeting 
led  by  Mr.  Hall,  in  which  he  raised  the  question,  'Who  is 
willing  to  consecrate  his  service  this  day  to  the  Lord?' 
that  I  gave  myself  to  Him  for  whatever  he  would  have 
me  do.  I  went  away  from  the  meeting  with  that  thought 
in  my  mind.  In  February,  1877,  my  business  engage- 
ment with  my  father  ended,  and  I  told  him  that  I  could 
not  go  on.  I  gave  up  my  work,  came  to  New  York  on 
Monday  morning,  and  called  on  McBurney  in  this  build- 
ing. He  greeted  me  very  warmly  as  I  came  in,  but  as 
you  have  sometimes  seen  him  do,  he  went  on  with  his 
writing  while  I  went  on  to  tell  my  story.  I  said,  'I  have 
come  to  inquire  what  I  had  better  do  to  prepare  myself 
for  the  secretaryship.'  He  asked,  'You  have  not  given 
up  your  business,  have  you?'  When  I  replied  that  I  had, 
he  said,  'Well,  you  are  a  fool.'  But  when  we  had  talked 
further,  no  man  could  have  been  more  cordial  than  he. 
He  proposed  to  me  first  to  spend  some  time  at  the  Bowery 

263 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBumey 

branch.  The  secretary  asked  me  to  lead  the  meeting  on 
Sunday,  and  just  about  time  for  the  meeting  to  begin,  in 
came  McBurney  with  three  or  four  men.  They  took 
places  on  the  front  seat  like  a  school  committee,  and 
confused  me  very  much.  The  fact  of  his  appearance  at 
this  meeting  leads  me  strongly  to  suspect  that  he  had 
prompted  the  secretary  to  have  me  take  charge  in  order 
that  he  might  form  an  opinion  of  me.  At  the  close  he 
came  to  me  and  asked,  'Why  do  you  get  down  on  your 
knees  when  you  pray?  It  would  be  better  to  look  around 
and  see  what  the  rest  of  the  audience  do.'  I  spent  some 
two  months  studying  various  associations,  and  was  then 
called  to  Hudson,  New  York.  McBurney  expressed  a 
warm  interest  in  my  success.  Most  of  my  interviews 
with  him  have  been  regarding  personal  matters.  I  recog- 
nize the  characteristics  of  which  others  have  spoken,  but 
as  I  look  back  I  can  see  no  one  who  has  ever  touched  my 
life  with  so  much  of  warmth,  and  was  a  part  of  it  like  the 
love  of  my  own  mother,  as  McBurney. 

"After  I  was  called  to  Newburg,  when  I  visited  New 
York,  I  would  stay  here  in  this  room.  There  was  always 
a  place  for  me.  I  have  spent  many  nights  here  on  this 
lounge,  and  shall  never  forget  his  conversations  before 
retiring  and  again  in  the  morning.  The  best  opportunity 
to  talk  with  him  was  when  he  was  shaving.  He  would 
stand  and  listen  with  only  an  occasional  'well,  well!'  until 
he  had  heard  the  whole  story  out.  I  shall  never  forget 
the  prayers  we  had  together.*  I  always  felt  stronger  after 
hearing  him  pray. 

"I  also  remember  something  of  the  struggle  through 
which  he  passed  when  Mr.  Morse  was  married.  He 
seemed  to  feel  as  if  he  were  left  alone. 

"In  1881,  on  the  voyage  to  the  London  conference,  I 
spent  five  as  sick  days  as  I  ever  experienced.  McBurney 
helped  me  up  on  deck  in  the  morning,  and  down  again  at 
night.  He  saw  that  I  was  placed  where  I  could  get  fresh 
air,  himself  covering  me  from  the  cold.  When  the 
weather  did  not  permit  my  being  out,  he  secured  for  me 
a  well-ventilated  place;  then  he  removed  my  shoes  and 
chafed  my  feet  with  his  hands. 

"Our  hobbies  brought  us  together.  He  was  keenly 
concerned  about  the  foundation  of  the  historical  library, 

264 


McBurney' s  Last  Days 

and  had  tried  to  do  something  of  the  kind  himself.  He 
was  also  deeply  interested  in  my  connection  with  the 
Springfield  school. 

"I  remember  he  was  always  looking  after  young  fel- 
lows. One  time  at  Newburg  he  went  out  of  his  way  to 
speak  with  kindly  interest  to  one  of  the  boys  who  was 
filling  the  lamps.  He  always  insisted  on  the  last  ten 
minutes  at  secretaries'  conferences  being  given  to  the 
younger  men  for  questions.  He  seemed  to  have  a  special 
concern  for  the  diffident  ones.  Years  after  our  first  meet- 
ing he  told  me  that  what  impressed  him  most  at  that  time 
was  my  great  awkwardness,  and  how  little  I  seemed  to 
have  the  qualifications  for  the  secretaryship." 

George  A.  Warburton  said: 

"All  I  remember  of  the  first  occasion  on  which  I  saw 
McBurney  was  the  cordiality  of  his  greeting  and  how 
busy  he  was.  I  wondered  how  a  man  who  was  so  busy 
could  ever  stop  to  speak  to  me. 

"I  have  always  been  impressed  with  the  deep  serious- 
ness of  his  religious  life.  In  his  thought  about  the  Bible, 
and  his  love  of  hymns,  he  was  like  the  type  of  Methodists 
that  I  knew  many  years  ago.  My  mother  was  always 
fond  of  quoting  Wesley's  hymns,  and  I  loved  to  hear  him 
quote  those  hymns.  That  was  one  bond  of  union 
between  us. 

' '  I  felt  very,  very  warmly  attached  to  him.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  he  was  a  man  with  whom  one  could  differ 
without  in  any  way  losing  his  confidence  or  his  affection. 
Indeed,  I  have  sometimes  thought  that  it  was  really  a 
means  of  increasing  it,  provided  the  difference  was  honest 
on  both  sides." 

H.  O.  Williams  said: 

"I  first  met  McBurney  in  1881.  I  was  conducting  a 
boys'  meeting,  and  a  man  came  into  the  room  very  quietly 
and  sat  down.  I  did  not  know  until  the  meeting  was 
over  that  it  was  McBurney.  He  at  once  impressed  me 
with  the  great  sympathy  and  love  he  showed  for  the  boys. 
He  got  hold  of  the  hands  of  those  little  fellows,  and 
seemed  interested  in  every  one. 

"In  1882  I  stopped  in  New  York  as  I  was  on  the  way 

265 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

to  attend  the  secretaries'  conference  at  New  Haven.  As 
I  came  into  the  association  rooms,  McBurney  came  out 
of  the  office.  I  was  surprised  that  he  remembered  me. 
Locking  his  arm  in  mine,  we  walked  across  the  floor. 
Looking  at  my  feet,  he  said,  'Are  those  the  best  shoes 
you  have?  They  will  never  do  for  you  to  wear  to  New 
Haven.'  I  told  him  they  were.  He  said,  'Well,  you 
had  better  go  right  out  and  buy  another  pair.'  I 
explained  to  him  that  I  had  money  enough  only  to  pay 
my  expenses  to  the  conference,  and  had  not  counted  on 
buying  any  shoes.  'Well,'  he  said, 'I  will  let  you  have 
the  money.'  But  my  pride  would  not  allow  me  to  do 
that.  He  saw  that  he  had  hurt  my  feelings,  so  he  took 
me  into  his  office  and  we  had  a  long  talk.  He  said  that 
secretaries  must  be  very  careful  about  their  personal 
appearance  in  dress,  and  talked  to  me  very  kindly. 

"Another  thing  that  struck  me  was  the  dispatch  with 
which  he  could  get  rid  of  a  man  when  he  was  busy.  He 
could  shake  your  hand  and  shake  you  out  of  the  office  at 
the  same  time. 

"What  impressed  me  more  than  anything  else  was  the 
deep  prayer  life  of  the  man.  Again  and  again  when  I 
have  been  in  his  office,  he  talked  of  praying  about  the 
problems  in  our  work.  He  said  that  we  did  not  pray 
enough." 

H.  P.  Andersen  said: 

"I  do  not  recall  one  point  during  the  three  years 
when  I  was  intimately  associated  with  him  where  we  dis- 
agreed. I  suppose  he  was  peculiarly  tender  to  the  young 
and  inexperienced.  He  counseled  most  wisely  and  sym- 
pathetically, and  was  exceedingly  helpful  spiritually.  It 
was  customary  for  him  to  hold  a  conference  of  the 
secretaries  of  New  York  City  from  month  to  month  in 
this  room.  As  we  gathered  together  around  the  table, 
he  showed  a  wonderfully  close  insight  into  the  mind  of 
every  man.  He  would  draw  us  out  and  advise  us  in  the 
frankest  kind  of  way. 

"He  was  very  particular  about  the  appearance  of 
things.  He  would  come  down  to  the  Institute,  run  his 
finger  along  a  table  or  chair,  and  then  show  the  dirt  on 
his  finger.     He  would  not  say  a  word. 

266 


McBurney*  s  Last  Days 

"The  supreme  moment  in  my  acquaintance  with  him 
was  at  the  time  when,  after  three  or  four  years  of  work, 
my  health  had  broken  down,  and  it  became  apparent  that 
I  must  leave  New  York.  It  was  supposed  that  a  per- 
manent lung  trouble  had  developed.  I  came  to  this  room 
to  counsel  with  him,  and  I  recall  how  the  tears  trickled 
down  his  face.  He  showed  to  me  that  day  a  heart  of 
love  that  no  one  has  shown  me  except  my  own  mother. 
We  had  a  long  conference  and  then  knelt  down  and 
prayed  together. 

"I  remember  in  giving  his  advice  about  the  best  way 
in  which  to  deal  with  men,  he  said,  'The  first  thing  is  to 
get  under  a  man's  vest. '  This  was  always  his  method, 
to  get  at  a  man  personally,  and  win  his  love  and  his  sym- 
pathy. The  power  to  do  this  was,  I  believe,  his  supreme 
quality." 

John  Glover  said: 

"I  came  to  New  York  in  1883,  and  called  at  the 
Twenty-third  Street  building  to  learn  of  a  suitable  board- 
ing-house. I  had  met  McBurney  once.  Upon  entering 
his  private  office,  I  found  him  so  occupied  in  writing  that, 
without  looking  up,  he  said  in  his  blunt  but  kind  way, 
'Well,  what  can  I  do  for  you?  Be  quick,  for  I  am  very 
busy. '  When  I  told  him  what  I  wanted,  he  threw  down 
his  pen,  put  his  arm  around  me,  and  led  me  into  an  outer 
office  where  he  introduced  me  to  an  assistant,  from  whom 
I  secured  the  desired  information.  It  was  in  such  a 
kindly  way  that  I  did  not  feel  that  he  wanted  to  get  rid 
of  me,  and  I  went  away  feeling  that  I  had  one  friend  in 
New  York. 

"Afterwards  when  I  became  one  of  the  secretaries  of 
the  international  committee,  I  roomed  in  this  building. 
He  often  called  me  up  to  sit  with  him  while  he  was 
dressing.  I  could  never  understand  why  he  showed  a 
preference  for  me.  I  often  went  out  walking  in  the  park 
with  him.  I  remember  his  sitting  down  beside  a  young 
man  who  was  a  perfect  stranger,  and  his  asking,  'Where 
do  you  live?'  in  such  an  unobtrusive  manner  that  the 
fellow  could  not  have  done  anything  else  but  answer. 

"One  thing  I  remember  very  gratefully  about 
McBurney  was  his  courtesy  to  my  sister  when   she  was 

267 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

here  in  New  York.  He  showed  the  quality  of  a  true 
gentleman.  She  has  referred  to  this  frequently  since, 
and  it  made  an  impression  upon  her  such  as  it  has  upon 
some  of  our  secretaries.  Being  a  bachelor  and  not  a 
ladies'  man,  it  was  the  more  noticeable. 

"During  his  last  illness,  he  sent  for  me  frequently  to 
come  to  the  hospital.  I  was  much  impressed  with  his 
sweet  endurance." 

F.  G.  Banister  said: 

"I  think  that  the  last  public  meeting  he  addressed 
was  the  men's  meeting  at  the  Harlem  branch,  the  third 
Sunday  in  December,  1898.  Throughout  the  address  he 
seemed  to  feel  that  his  work  was  nearly  done.  I  shall 
never  forget  how  he  stood  before  our  men  and  told  the 
story  of  the  gospel.  He  plead  with  the  men  to  give  their 
hearts  to  Christ,  and  seemed  to  desire  that  every  word 
should  count.  Three  or  four  of  our  men  that  afternoon 
yielded  their  lives  to  Jesus  Christ." 

Henry  M.  Orne,  who  was  the  last  speaker, 
was  for  nine  years  McBurney's  close  associate 
in  the  management  of  the  New  York  associa- 
tion, and  has  been  chosen  as  his  successor.  Mr. 
Orne  graduated  from  college  in  1878,  and  came 
to  New  York  to  enter  into  business.  His  em- 
ployer, as  a  Christmas  present,  presented  him 
with  a  ticket  of  membership  in  the  Twenty-third 
Street  association.     He  relates: 

"One  evening  McBurney  came  up  to  me  soon  after  I 
joined  the  association,  put  his  arm  on  my  shoulder  in  a 
friendly  way,  and  said,  gently,  looking  straight  in  my 
eyes,  'Do  you  love  the  Saviour,  my  boy?'  From  almost 
anybody  else  I  would  have  resented  the  question,  but 
from  him,  in  the  way  he  asked  it,  I  did  not.  I  realized 
then  that  he  had  formed  a  bond  of  sympathy  between  us, 
and  that  whenever  he  would  ask  anything  of  me,  I  would 
respond  and  love  him. 

"He  had  a  knowledge  of  young  men's  hearts  and  a 

268 


McBurney' s  Last  Days 

sympathy  with  them  as  had  no  other  man  I  have  ever 
met.  As  I  recall  my  feeling  toward  McBurney  at  that 
time,  I  can  easily  understand  how  so  many  men  say  that 
he  was  a  father  to  them.  Not  having  any  children  of  his 
own,  he  made  all  young  men  children  to  himself.  He  saw 
something  to  love  in  many  young  fellows  with  whom 
others  would  not  feel  drawn  to  shake  hands,  or  even 
exchange  greetings.  It  was  this  great  volume  of  deep 
love  in  his  heart  poured  out  towards  those  he  met  which 
drew  from  them  an  allegiance  to  himself,  and  which 
reminds  me  of  the  effect  of  the  realization  of  God's  love 
to  men  when  they  discover  and  accept  it.  I  became  as 
loyal  to  him  as  a  young  man  could  be  to  anybody.  As  I 
look  back,  I  can  ascribe  the  beginning  of  my  great  inter- 
est in  the  association  to  the  few  words  spoken  to  me  by 
McBurney. 

"In  1889  I  was  called  by  the  finance  committee  to 
help  McBurney  in  the  finances  of  the  association.  When 
I  came  to  talk  the  matter  over  with  him,  it  was  in  this 
room.  He  sat  at  this  table  writing  letters,  as  he  often 
did  at  night,  and  he  wrote  all  the  time  we  were  together. 
He  told  me  what  would  be  expected  of  me,  and  said  that 
he  had  confidence  in  me,  and  knew  that  I  had  been  loyal 
to  him  in  the  past.  Then  he  said,  'Now,  Henry,  you 
will  find  I  am  a  great  bear.  I  will  be  very  rough  with 
you  at  times,  and  I  want  you  to  know  that  in  advance.' 
I  replied,  'I  do  not  think  you  will  be — you  never  have 
been  yet.'  'I  will  be,'  he  said,  as  he  raised  his  head, 
'you  will  have  to  bear  with  me,  my  son.'  So  1  came  on 
April  15,  1889. 

"His  generosity  with  money  was  a  marked  character- 
istic. Once  he  came  out  of  his  office  indignantly  shaking 
his  fist  he  was  so  moved,  and  said  of  a  man  who  had  just 
left,  'I  could  do  nothing  with  him.'  I  asked,  'What 
were  you  trying  to  do  with  him?'  He  answered,  'I 
could  not  persuade  him  to  take  any  money.  He  is  in 
abject  circumstances  and  needs  it,  but  I  could  not  pre- 
vail on  him  to  take  it. '  It  grieved  him  to  the  heart.  He 
was  like  a  father  with  a  child  too  independent  to  accept 
his  loving  gifts. 

"In  the  summer  of  1889  this  building  caught  fire  and 
almost  ruined  his  library.     He  felt  so  grieved  you  would 

269 


Life  of  Robert  R.  McBurney 

have  thought   it  was   his   house  builded  with   his   own 
hands." 

Mr.  Orne  then  told  of  a  disagreement  be- 
tween himself  and  McBurney  at  a  meeting  of 
the  directors  concerning  the  repair  work  to  be 
done  on  the  room.  This  resulted  in  their  re- 
lations becoming  so  strained  that  Mr.  Orne 
thought  best  to  hand  in  his  resignation. 

He  said: 

"I  wrote  a  letter  of  resignation  and  started  to  the 
telephone  to  find  out  if  the  president  of  the  association 
was  at  his  office,  intending  to  deliver  the  letter  at  once; 
but  before  I  had  signaled,  McBurney  followed  me,  put 
his  arms  around  me,  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes  he  drew 
me  on  to  my  knees  with  him  and  began  to  pray. 

"Now,  what  could  you  do  with  a  man  like  that?  Of 
course  we  were  reconciled  and  understood  each  other 
better  for  the  experience.  We  never  had  any  real  diffi- 
culty again.  I  was  frank  in  telling  him  what  I  thought, 
and  he  was  the  same  with  me. 

"He  had  a  strong  yearning  for  companionship,  and 
seemed  to  enjoy  talking  about  men  he  knew.  All  the 
time  there  was  appreciation  on  my  part  of  his  superiority 
and  his  hold  upon  my  affection  which  I  was  afraid  to  let 
him  see.  I  felt  that  if  he  knew  how  much  I  loved  him 
and  would  do  for  him,  he  would  claim  more  and  more; 
and  it  seems  to  me  now  I  selfishly  withheld  the  manifesta- 
tion of  love  for  him  that  I  feel  I  should  have  given.  He 
required  much  because  he  gave  much." 

McBurney  died  near  the  close  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  and  at  the  end  of  the  first  half- 
century  of  the  history  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association.  It  is  difficult  at  this 
early  date  fully  to  estimate  his  career,  and 
chiefly  because  it  is  still  impossible  to  measure 
the  real  significance  of  the  association  move- 
ment in  modern  life.    But  a  few  things  stand  out 

270 


McBumey's  Last  Days 

clearly  already.  He  will  certainly  be  looked 
upon  as  the  pioneer  in  this  cause,  the  apostle  to 
the  young  men  of  his  generation.  As  the  as- 
sociation increases  in  power,  his  statesmanlike 
qualities  and  foresight  will  receive  a  larger 
and  more  appreciative  recognition.  By  his 
friends  he  will  be  remembered  as  the  loving, 
devoted  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  faithful  ad- 
viser, and  the  inspiring  leader.  In  New  York 
City  he  will  be  cherished  as  the  one  who  de- 
veloped one  of  its  most  important  and  beneficent 
institutions.  He  was  the  great  general  secre- 
tary. His  impress  upon  the  secretarial  brother- 
hood can  never  be  effaced.  This  influence  will 
abide.  In  the  future  records  he  will  stand  be- 
side Sir  George  Williams  as  one  of  the  chief 
figures  in  the  work  which  God  has  so  signally 
owned,  and  of  whose  foundation  and  beginnings 
he  was  himself  such  an  omnipresent  part. 


271 


APPENDIX 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
held  at  the  general  office,  March  15,  1897,  Mr.  Morse 
and  the  recording  secretary  were  requested  to  prepare  a 
minute  to  be  spread  upon  the  records  of  the  board  in 
commemoration  of  the  long  and  valued  services  rendered 
the  association  for  thirty-five  years  by  General  Secretary 
Robert  R.  McBurney. 

In  commemoration  of  the  fact  that  its  general  secre- 
tary, Mr.  Robert  R.  McBurney  reached  his  sixtieth  birth- 
day on  the  31st  of  March,  1897,  and  the  thirty-fifth  year 
of  his  connection  with  the  association  as  its  chief  employed 
officer,  the  board  desires  to  place  upon  its  minutes  an 
expression  of  their  profound  appreciation  of  the  remark- 
able and  invaluable  service  which  he  has  rendered  to 
young  men  and  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
of  this  city,  and  to  the  entire  brotherhood  to  which  the 
association  belongs. 

As  early  as  the  year  1854,  at  seventeen  years  of  age, 
he  first  entered  the  rooms  of  the  association  on  the  even- 
ing of  his  arrival  in  the  city.  Eight  years  afterward,  in 
1862,  his  connection  with  the  association  as  its  employed 
officer  began. 

He  was  elected  director  and  recording  (virtually 
general)  secretary  in  1862,  and  in  1866  (April  2),  when 
the  western  branch  rooms  were  opened,  that  work  of 
extension  began  which  has  been  steadily  pressed  for- 
ward for  the  past  thirty  years  without  serious  draw- 
back. 

When  he  became  its  employed  executive  officer  in 
1862,  the  association  had  150  members,  was  occupying 
three  small  rented  rooms,  and  expending  in  its  work 
annually  $1,700.  Now,  with  7,309  members,  it  carries 
on  its  work  at  fifteen  points,  owning  nine  buildings, 
valued  at  $2,000,000,  and  expending  annually  in  its 
diversified  work  $175,000. 

272 


Appendix 

While  Mr.  McBurney  has  appreciated  at  its  just  value 
the  machinery  of  the  organization,  its  buildings  and  its 
equipment,  he  has  always  given  the  place  of  first  impor- 
tance to  that  part  of  the  association  work  which  consists 
in  the  hand-to-hand  effort  connected  with  personal  inter- 
course, Bible  study  and  teaching,  and  all  those  spiritual, 
quiet,  Christian  activities  growing  out  of  a  living  faith 
in  Christ,  and  a  supreme  purpose  to  lead  young  men  into 
His  fellowship  and  service. 

His  personal  influence  exerted  incessantly  these  many 
years  upon  the  lives  of  young  men,  one  by  one,  has 
endeared  him  to  a  great  multitude,  many  of  whom  are 
now  honored  and  useful  in  professional,  business,  and 
church  life,  and  all  of  whom  value  him  as  a  friend  asso- 
ciated with  what  is  best  in  their  character. 

Beyond  the  limits  of  New  York  City  his  influence  has 
been  felt  throughout  the  association  brotherhood  in  a 
very  remarkable  manner.  His  name  is  almost  omni- 
present, and  represents  one  of  the  most  important  per- 
sonal factors  in  creating  or  shaping  the  following  features 
of  the  association  movement: 

i.    The  first  distinctive  association  building,  in  1869. 

2.  The  first  practical  demonstration  of  the  fourfold 
work — physical,  social,  intellectual,  and  spiritual. 

3.  The  resolutions  of  the  international  convention, 
(1)  creating  state  and  provincial  organizations,  (2)  adopt- 
ing the  evangelical  test  of  membership,  (3)  locating  the 
international  committee  in  New  York  City,  (4)  appoint- 
ing the  November  Day  and  Week  of  Prayer  for  young 
men. 

4.  He  secured  the  money  necessary  to  put  Robert 
Weidensall  in  his  field  as  senior  secretary  of  the  inter- 
national committee. 

5.  He  enlisted  Richard  C.  Morse  as  first  general 
secretary  of  the  international  committee. 

6.  He  was  first  chairman  of  the  international  com- 
mittee's subcommittee  on  its  work  in  foreign  lands. 

7.  He  was  the  earliest  and  strongest  leader;  in  fact, 
the  "father"  of  the  New  York  state  organization. 

8.  He  was  the  most  influential  member  of  the  gen- 
eral secretaries'  conference  and  association. 

9.  He  was  the  counselor  and  helper  of  the  founder 

273 


Appetidix 

of  the  Secretarial  Training  School  at  Springfield,  Massa- 
chusetts. 

10.  He  has  attended  every  meeting  (save  one)  of  the 
world's  conferences  of  the  association  since  the  year 
1872,  and  always  as  an  invaluable  leader  in  the  American 
delegation  and  in  the  conference. 

The  board  places  upon  its  minutes  this  brief  and 
imperfect  minute  of  the  extraordinary  service  rendered 
by  its  general  secretary  during  his  unexampled  term  of 
service  with  profound  gratitude  to  God  for  his  abundant 
blessing  upon  his  servant  during  these  many  years,  and 
with  the  earnest  prayer  that  Mr.  McBurney  may  receive 
increasing  tokens  of  the  Divine  presence  and  favor  in  the 
good  work  to  which  he  has  consecrated  his  life. 
(Signed) 

Bradford  K.  Wiley, 

Recording  Secretary 


274 


INDEX 


Ballard,  Frank  W„  53 
Boston  Association 

founding  of,  29 

influence    upon     New    York 
Society,  31-34 
Bowne,  J.  T.,  247-248 
Brainerd,  Hon.  Cephas 

plans  for  revival  of  Associa- 
tion, 53 

chairman  of  Army  and  Navy 
Committee,  61 

moves  McBurney's  re-election, 
67 

member  of  Building  Commit- 
tee, 73 

investigation  of  the  social  con- 
dition of  young  men  in  New 
York,  75-79 

influence  upon  McBurney,  88 

leader  in  international  work, 
158 

McBurney's  tribute  to,   158- 

159 

presidentof  Philadelphia  Con- 
vention, 162 

address  at  the  Albany  Con- 
vention, 167-168 

elected  member  of  Interna- 
tional Committee  and  Chair- 
man, 169 

article  on  Evangelical  basis, 
180 

resolution  on  Evangelical 
basis,  180-181 

suggestions    regarding 
World's  Conventions,  215 
Chamberlain,  Rev.  Jacob,  223- 

225 
Chicago    Association,    84,    193, 

200 
Cities,  relation  of  their  growth 

to  the  Association,  24 
Colgate,  Edward,  relation  to  Re- 
vival of,  1857 


Colyer,  Vincent 
agent  of  New  York  Associa- 
tion Army  Committee,  47 
letter  leading  to  formation  of 
Christian  Commission,  48 
Comstock,  Anthony,  107 
Confederation,  The,  36-38 
Crosby,  Rev.  Dr.  Howard, 
second     President     of     New 

York  Association,  36 
opposes    the    Confederation, 

37-39 
chairman    of  Committee    on 

Evangelical  Test,  184-185 
Deane,  L.  L.,   relation  to  Re- 
vival of  1856,  42 
Dodge,  Wm.E.,  58 
chosen  a  director,  66 
president  of  Association,  71 
conception  of  the  aim  of  the 

Association,  72 
his    relation  to  the    building 

movement,  73-74 
incorporation    of     the    term 

physical  in  the  constitution, 

appointed    building    trustee, 

82 
lays  corner-stone,  82 
European  Work 
World's  Conventions,  211-212 
Amsterdam  1872,  213-214 
Hamburg  1875,  216 
Geneva,  216 
London  1881,  220 
Evangelical  Test 
broader  basis  in  New  York, 63 
Paris  basis,  174 
early  American  practice,  175 
debate  at   New    York   State 

Conventions,  176-177 
Mr.  Brainerd's  article,  180 
resolutions    at    the     Detroit 

Convention,  180-182 


275 


Index 


adoption  of  basis  at  Portland 

Convention,  183-185 
results,  186 

Evangelical  work  for  all  classes, 
192-193 
by  State  Committees,  106 
McBurney's  paper  on,  196-200 
Mr.  Moody's  view  of,  205 

International  Committee 
office  in  23d  st.  building,  87 
location  in  New  York,  168-169 

International  Conventions 
Philadelphia,  1865,  161-165 
Albany,  1866,  165-169 
Montreal,  1867,  169-173 
Detroit,  1868,  180-182 
Portland,  1869,  183-186 
Toronto,  1876,  201-203 
Philadelphia,  1877,  225-226 

Jessup,  Morris  K., 

opening  23d  st.  building,  83 
president  of  the  Association, 
107 

Langdon,  William  Chauncy 
founder  of  the  confederation, 

36 
relations    with    Dr.    Crosby, 

36-39 
London  Association 

visited  by  Mr.  Petrie,  28. 
Manierre,  Benjamin  F. 
first  acquaintance  with    Mc- 

Bumey,  20 
frees    association  from  debt, 

49-53 
secures  McBurney  for  associa- 
tion, 55 
McBurney,    personal     appear- 
ance, 5 
love  of  young  men,  6 
love  of  the  Scriptures,  7 
love  of  hymns,  7,  13 
knowledge  of  men,  8 
business  ability,  9,  69 
birth,  10,  early  surroundings, 

16 
ancestry  12,  education  15 
early  religious  influences,  13 
arrival  in  America,  17 
early  employment,  18 
unites  with  St.  Paul's  Church, 
19 


meets  Mr.  Manierre,  20 
early  Christian  effort,  20-21 
service  in  great  revivals,  43 
out  of  employment,  52 
becomes    librarian    of     New 

York  Association  1862,  56 
personal  work,  58 
training  for  future  work,  59 
seeks  to  enlist  in  army,  62 
resigns  and  enters  business, 

66-67 
returns  to  the  Association, 

68-69 
suggestions  for  inaugurating 

the  physical  work,  72 
first  international  convention, 

73 

commencement  of  building 
movement,  73 

investigation  of  social  con- 
dition of  young  men,  75-79 

contribution  to  the  building 
movement,  86 

thoughts  of  the  ministry,  88 

his  home,  88 

his  share  in  introducing  the 
four-fold  work,  91 

his  interest  in  the  social  work, 
92-94 

introduces  the  gymnasium,  95 

his  interest  in  the  library,  98 

his  ideal  of  religious  work, 
99-102 

as  a  personal  worker,  93-94, 
103-104 

as  a  Bible  teacher,  105-106 

his  efforts  against  vice,  106 

the  White  Cross  Movement, 
109 

relation  to  the  Moody  Meet- 
ings, 111-112 

securing  the  tower-room,  117 

fiftieth  birthday,  119 

trip  to  the  Holy  Land,  120-123 

letter  to  George  A.  Hall,  121- 
122 

becomes  Metropolitan  Secre- 
tary, 126 

his  relation  to  student  work, 
127 

the  educational  work,  129 

boys'  work,  130 


276 


Index 


the  West  Side  building,  130- 

I3I 

relation    to    the    securing  of 

money,  134 
relation  to  fellow  employees, 

135-136 
his  conception  of  the  object  of 
the  Association,  139, 141-142 
views  on  social  features  in  As- 
sociation, 140 
finances,  142-143 
centralized  control,  144 
settled  principles,  145 
his  Evangelical  views,  147 
views  on  the  Bible,  147-148 
views  on  an  Association  paper, 

149-iSo 
politics,  1 50-1 5 1 
as  a  writer,  152 
his  "  Conversations  of  Jesus," 

x53 

service  outside  the  Associa- 
tion, 153 

his  private  life,  153 

his  recreation,  154 

books  on  work  for  young  men, 
156 

tribute  to  Mr.  Brainerd,  158- 

159 

his  leaderhip,  159 

as  a  speaker,  160 

first  convention,  161 

chairman  of  Nominating 
Committee  Phila  d  e  1  p  h  i  a 
Convention,  161 

suggests  topics  on  work  for 
young  men,  163,  164 

proposes  plan  of  convention 
procedure,  165 

day  of  prayer  for  young  men, 
166 

relations  with  H.  Thane  Mil- 
ler, 167 

location  of  the  International 
Committee  in  New  York, 
168,  169 

memberof  International  Com- 
mittee, 169 

secures  money  for  Charleston 
(S.  C.)  delegates,  170 

Mr.  Miller  made  president  at 
Montreal,  172 


his  service  in  organizing  con- 
ventions, 172 

views  of  the  Evangelical 
basis,  176 

organizes  the  New  York 
State  work,  176 

urges  Evangelical  basis  at 
New  York,  176-179 

first  vice-president  of  Detroit 
Convention,  180 

resolution  on  Evangelical 
basis,  182 

secures  funds  for  first  Inter- 
national Field  Secretary, 183 

nominates  committee  on 
Evangelical  basis,  185 

proposes  Mr.  Morse  as  editor 
of  The  Monthly,  187 

first  acquaintance  with  Mr. 
Morse,  188 

friendship  with  Mr.  Morse, 
189-192 

his  estimate  of  Mr.    Moody, 

.IQ5 
his    paper    on     Evangelistic 

work,  197,  200 
his  defeat  at  Toronto,  201-203 
controversy  with    Dr.    Mun- 

hall,  204 
interest  in  the  student  work, 

206 
interest   in    finances    of    the 

International      Committee, 

207, 208 
relations  of  State  and  Inter- 
national Committee,  209 
attendance  on  World's   con- 
ventions, 211,  212 
Amsterdam  conventions,  213 
friendship  with    Sir    George 

Williams,  214,  215 
assists  in  establishing  World's 

committee,  217,  218 
M.  Fermaud,  219 
at  the    London    Convention, 

1881,  220,  221 
comments  on  World's  work, 

221 
influence    upon     European 

work,  222 
young  men  in  unevangelized 

lands,  223 


277 


Index 


interest  in  the  work  in  Japan, 
224 

chairman  of    Committee    on 
foreign  work,  226 

outlines    policy    for    foreign 
work,  226-228 

resignation  from  International 
Committee,  229-234 

his  contribution  to  the  Secre- 
taryship, 236 

relation  to  his  fellow  secre- 
taries, 237,  238 

organization   of   the   Secre- 
taries' Conference,  238 

Conference  papers,  240 

his  idea  of  the  Secretaryship, 
241-244 

defeat   of    the  White    Cross 
movement,  244,  245 

resolutions  at  Selma,  246 

the  training  school  at  Spring- 
field, 247, 248 

last  work,  249 

goes    t  o    Presbyterian   Hos- 
pital of  New  York  City,  250 

taken  to  sanitarium  at  Clifton 
Springs,  250 

resigns  as  Secretary  of  New 
York  Association,  250 

resignation  not  accepted,  250, 
251 

death,  252 

funeral  services,  252 

memorial  service,  257 

providing  a  memorial,  257 

final  memorial   service,  258- 
271 
McConaugly,  David,  229 
McCormick,  Richard  C.  tour  of 

associations,  39-42 
Miller,  H.  Thane,  president  of 
Albany  convention,  167 

relations  with  McBurney,  167 

president  of   Montreal   Con- 
vention, 171-172 
Moody,  Dwight    L.  invited  to 
New  York,  ill 

evangelistic  work,  112 

effect  of  meetings  on  Associ- 
ation, 113 

his  conception  of  the  Associ- 
ation, 193,  194 


his  service  to  the  Association 
cause,  195 

changed  view,  205 
Morgan,    J.     Pierpont,    chosen 
member  of  board,  65 

proposed   plans   for  enlarge- 
ment, 66 

member    of    Building    Com- 
mittee, 73 
Morse,   Richard   C,  General 
Secretary  of   International 
Committee,  158 

commentson  Evangelical  test, 
186 

first  meeting  with  McBurney, 
188 

becomes  editor  of  the  Associ- 
ation monthly,  188-190 

his  friendship  for  McBurney, 
190-192 

estimate  of  Mr.  Moody,  195 

work  in  Europe,  211 

at    Amsterdam     Convention, 
213 

Hamburg  Convention,  216 

Geneva  Convention,  217-219 

resolutions     regarding     Mc- 
Burney, 231-233 
Munhall,  L.  W.  at  the  Toronto 

Convention,  202 
New  York  City  in  1850,  25 

religious  life  in,  26 

a  genius  for  evil,  26-27 
New  York  City  Association 

need  for  work  among  young 
men,  26-27 

the  founder,  28 

preliminary  meetings,  29-30 

organization,  31-32 

constitution,  32 

opening  of  rooms,  35 

attitude  toward  the  Confeder- 
ation, 37-39 

the  Slavery  Question,  37 

the  Fremont  Campaign,  40 

withdrawal  of  members,  41 

relation    to   revival   of    1857- 
1858,  42 

progress  of  the  revival,  44 

origin  of  the  revival,  45 

relation    to  U.    S.    Christian 
Commission,  47,  48 


278 


Index 


condition  of  Association  in 
1861,  1862,  49-51 

proposals  to  disband,  53 

revival  of  interest,  54 

McBurney  becomes  librarian, 
56 

the  176th  Volunteers,  62 

home  work  during  the  war,  63 

return  of  the  seceding  mem- 
bers, 63 

the  aim  of  work,  72 

beginning  of  building  move- 
ment, 73 

social  conditions  surrounding 
young  men,  75-79 

act  of  incorporation,  79 

appointment  of  property  trus- 
tees, 80 

canvas  for  funds,  81 

laying  of  corner-stone,  82 

building  completed,  82 

opening  of,  83 

relation  to  the  building  move- 
ment, 84-86 

leadership  in  the  Association 
at  large,  87 

the  social  work,  92-95 

physical  work  introduced,  96 

educational  classes,  97 

the  library,  98-99 

religious  work,  99-102 

law  against  obscene  -litera- 
ture, 106 

efforts  to  suppress  vice,  106- 
109 

White  Cross  society,  109 

Moody  meetings,  1 1 1-1 12 

results  of  the  meetings,  113 

railroad  and  other  branches, 
113-114 

metropolitan  plan  of  organ- 
ization, 124 

branch  development,  126-127 

student  department,  127 

educational  director  em- 
ployed, 128 

economic  features,  129 

work  for  boys,  130 

West  Side  building,  130-131 

features  of  the  building,  132- 

*33 

the  work  in  1898,  134-138 


New  York   State    Conventions 

first  convention,  176 
Niblo  William,  98-99 
Petrie,  George  H.  visits  London 

Association,  28 
Potter,  Bishop  Henry  C. 
Address  at    funeral   of    Mc- 
Burney, 253-256 
Revival  of  1857-1858 
first  meetings  in  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church,  42 
J.  C.  Lamphier,  43 
financial  depression,  44 
progress  in   New  York  City, 

.44. 
origin  of,  45 
character    and   influence   of, 

46 
San    Francisco  Association 

building,  85 
Shipton,  W.  E.  influence  upon 

McBurney,  105 
sketch  of,  213 
attitude  toward   American 

Work,  214 
opposes  location  of  World's 

Committee  at  Geneva,  218 
idea  of  the  Secretaryship,  242- 

243 
Slavery  Question,  The 
discussions  in  the  New  York 

Association  over,  37 
the  Fremont  Campaign,  1856, 

4° 
division  in  New  York  Associa- 
tion over,  41 
resolution  passed  on  the  death 
of  Lincoln,  42 
Stewart,  George  H. 
Chairman  of  Christian  Com- 
mission, 48 
Philadelphia  Convention,  163 
Stokes,  James,  63 
member  of  board,  65 
building  trustee,  81 
gift  to  educational   depart- 
ment, 97 
Swift,  John  T.,  in  Japan,  224 
at   Philadelphia   Convention, 
225 
Training  School  at  Springfield, 
247-248 


279 


Index 


United   States   Christian   Com- 
mission origin,  48 
work  of,  49 
Vanderbilt,  Cornelius,  115,  131 
Vice,  Society  for  the  Suppres- 
sion of,  75,  109 
Webster,  Henry,  102, 109 
Weidensall,    Robert,    becomes 
Field  Secretary  of  Interna- 
tional Committee,  183 
at  Dayton,  208 


White  Cross  Movement,  109-110 
Williams,  Sir  George,  214-215 

General  Convention,  218-219 
Wishard,  Luther  D.,  Secretary 
of  Student  Department,  206 
tour,  225 
Woods,  William,  suggests  gym- 
nasium work  to  McBurney, 
72 
begins  instruction  in  gymnas- 
tics, 96 


280 


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